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Not a lot of people saw it as ‘breaking news' when ESPN reporter Shams Charania tweeted that the Houston Rockets would be bringing back Jeff Green to play his 18th season. After all, they made huge moves this offseason already.
They traded for Kevin Durant, re-signed Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. Then to start free agency, they signed two of the top available role players in the market, i.e. Clint Capela and Dorian Finney-Smith.
But to those who know what Green had to get through to get to this point, him playing another season is one of the most inspiring news that person read (or heard) that day.
Jeff Green was forced to retire in 2011 after a failed physical
Entering his fifth season in the NBA, Green signed a one-year, $9 million deal with the Boston Celtics once the NBA lockout was over. He performed the usual examinations he did each season. However, instead of getting the typical stamp of approval, Green received news that he never thought was possible.
After further examination, doctors found that he had an aortic aneurysm. The condition wasn't common, and it was one that would impact both his basketball career and life in general. He was only 25 years old at the time, showed no symptoms, and only missed 13 of his first 328 regular-season games.
Green opted for surgery in January 2012 and spent over 24 hours in the operating room. The operation isn't normally that long, but in an interview with Kristine Leahy, Green revealed that he had to go back into surgery because of internal bleeding.
“What I was told was, when I came out of surgery, I had to go back into surgery because I had internal bleeding,” Green said. “That’s something a lot of people didn’t know.”
To Green, he considers the day of his surgery as his second birthday each year. It was a surgery that left him with a nine-inch scar down his chest and a long journey of rehabilitation.
Jeff Green returned from heart surgery better than ever
Fearful that his NBA career would be over, the Celtics actually signed Green once he was officially cleared to play. It was a contract similar to what he initially got before the surgery at $9 million a year. Only this time it was long term, inking a four-year, $35 million contract.
In his first campaign back after taking just a full year to recover, Green played 81 games for the Celtics. He'd even start 17 of those games and averaged 12.8 points playing 27.8 minutes a game.
Fast forward to today, Green has won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets and played with different legends that changed the game. From Durant, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, James Harden… Whatever role, city, or jersey that was on his chest, he never lost his place in the league. Over his career, Green has made over $100 million in contract earnings.
Green's garnered a bit of a reputation as a journeyman, playing for 11 teams the last 18 years. Sometimes he was asked to be a starter. During his early 30s, other teams asked him to be a role player. On other teams, he was asked to be more of a veteran voice in the locker room.
Whatever he was asked to do, he did it at a high level. Jeff Green got a second lease on life, and he's making sure to make each second count.
