Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images The former Spur and fan favorite brought defense, threes, and a championship to San Antonio as part of a lucrative career. Former San Antonio Spur and 3x NBA champion Danny Green has announced retirement from basketball via X and his YouTube account, Danny Green x Inside the Green Room. After coming into the NBA as a second round pick coming off an NCAA championship with the North Carolina Tar Heels, he quickly ingrained himself as one of LeBron James’ favorite sidekicks with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, he become more known for his sideline dances than his play on the court and was waived after playing in just 20 games his rookie season. He soon found himself as one of the Spurs’ ultimate redemption stories. During the 2010-2011 season, he signed with the Spurs but was waived after just two games because, in his own words, he had some growing up to do. He then signed with the G-League Reno Bighorns before returning to the Spurs late in the season, splitting time between Austin and San Antonio. He returned following the NBA lockout a new man, had his breakout season in 2011-2012 as the Spurs returned to true championship contention, and the rest is history. He was the the perfect, prototypical three-and-D player of his era who gave the Spurs a reliable outside shooter and All-NBA level defense. Although he earned the nickname “Icy-Hot” for his sometimes inconsistent but lethal three-point shot, his presence allowed the Spurs to return Manu Ginobili to the preferred sixth-man role. Green nearly helped lead the Spurs to a championship in 2013 with a then record-breaking 27 threes in the finals, and they would go on to win it all the next season. Green remained a key part of the Spurs’ rotation and culture for the next four seasons, including making 2nd Team All-Defense in 2017. Unfortunately, his time with the Spurs came to an abrupt end after the 2017-18 season, when he was included in the trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan and Jacob Poeltl. It wasn’t how anyone wanted to see his time with the Spurs end, but it had to be done move on from the saga his teammate had brought on the franchise. Green would go on to win two more championships, with the Raptors in 2019 and Lakers in 2020, making him the 3rd NBA player to win championships with three different teams, along with John Sally and Robert Horry. Even as he became a journeyman at the end of his career, he remained a desirable rotation player for contenders. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL and LCL in the 2022 playoffs when his teammate, Joel Embiid, flopped fell into his leg, and he would only play in 13 more games across the next two season before announcing his retirement. Danny Green was and always will be on of the Spursiest Spurs and a fan favorite here in San Antonio. Congratulations to him on such a wonderful NBA career after it got off to a rocky start, and I’m sure he has an extremely bright future ahead whereever it may take him. Thanks for everything, Danny!