Spurs fan-favorite calls it quits after illustrious NBA career

The San Antonio Spurs have a special relationship with the community. The way the people in the city love their players is second to none, and the team reciprocates in several ways. One of the ways that's done in bringing in athletes deserving of that affection, and none were more deserving than Danny Green, who has called it a career after 15 years in the NBA.

Danny Green is one of four players in NBA history to win a championship at three different locations. He wasn't just a passenger in any of them either. DG was an instrumental piece in bringing success to the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers.

It's hard to say he got the short end of the stick when he was packaged with Kawhi Leonard and shipped over the border in a deal that brought in DeMar DeRozan because of the success he had after he left. It's actually the Spurs fans who felt the most misfortune when he departed with Leonard through no fault of his own. Nobody wanted him to go, but his contributions will always be remembered.

Danny Green had ridiculously awesome shooting nights for the Spurs

Trying to compile every game Danny Green set the nets on fire would take a week. The man shot 39% from deep, and four of his nine years were over 40% during his tenure with San Antonio. He was a marksman in every sense of the word, and his clutch gene was present when needed more often than not. Leaving DG open in the corner of a close ball game in the fourth quarter was a spicy proposition.

In the 2013 NBA Finals, he reached a level of shooting that's still hard to comprehend for the type of player he was—a role player. But he played it much better than almost every other role player in the league. There's no other way to describe the shooting numbers in that fated series against the Miami Heat.

Danny Green 3PT% by game in the 2013 Finals:
Game 1- 45%
Game 2- 100%
Game 3- 78%
Game 4- 60%
Game 5- 60%
Game 6- 20%
Game 7- 17%

If you watched it, you know how magical it was, until the Miami Heat decided they would stop using the defensive strategy, "He can't make those forever," in Game 6. In the final two games, they played Green so close, he could probably tell the players what they had for lunch.

The former Tar Heel was a playoff performer. He was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and that didn't change when the postseason rolled around. Spurs fans will remember his mind-boggling transition defense as he single-handedly stopped LeBron James and Dwyane Wade from scoring fast break buckets, blocking shots, and stealing the ball entirely.

Green was a winner. He made the plays that affected game outcomes on a regular basis, a trait that goes back to his days at North Carolina under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, where he won a national championship.

He last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022–23 but only appeared in four games. He currently hosts a podcast called Inside the Green Room, and he'll no doubt continue to win in life as he's done throughout. Thank you, DG.