A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Nicknamed "

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

", he holds a

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played for the Los Angeles Lakers,

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

and

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. He found most success with the Lakers, with whom he won three championships in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, 1988 and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and was named an

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. Green was born and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, attending

Benson Polytechnic High School Benson Polytechnic High School is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. It is temporarily located in Portland's Lents neighborhood while a renovation project is underway at its campus in the Central Eastside c ...

and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degree ...

. He was inducted into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 2003.

Early life

Born in

, Green was given the initials "A.C." like his father A.C. Green Sr. The initials stand for his father's mother Amanda and his father's father Chester. Green, who had regularly attended church with his family until allowed the decision whether to do so during his high school freshman year, became a born again Christian during a

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

weekend retreat during his senior year of high school. He never missed a class in his educational career.

College career

Green attended

, where he finished second in school history in rebounding and fourth in scoring. He was an All-Pac-10 selection as a sophomore, and as a junior he ranked fourth in the nation in field goal percentage at .657. As a senior, he averaged 19.1 points and 9.2 rebounds and was named to the All-America Third Team. He was inducted into the

Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor The Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor recognizes former athletes and coaches who have made a significant impact to the tradition and heritage of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 2002, one honoree is selected by each member institution in the co ...

during the

2012 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament The 2012 Pacific Life Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament was played on March 7–10, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The tournament champion became the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, NCAA tournamen ...

, March 10, 2012.

Professional career

Los Angeles Lakers (1985–1993)

The Los Angeles Lakers, fresh from winning an NBA championship, selected Green in the first round as the 23rd overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft. Green led the Lakers in rebounding for six of his eight years on the team. Led by

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in th ...

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lake ...

and

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim ...

, Los Angeles captured back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988, Green's second and third years with the squad. In the two campaigns combined, he averaged 11.1 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting better than .500 from the field. Green also reached the NBA Finals with Los Angeles in 1989 and 1991. Green was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1988–89, was voted a starter on the 1990 Western Conference All-Star Team and finished fourth in the league in field goal percentage in 1992–93 at .537.

Phoenix Suns (1993–1996)

Green left the Lakers in 1993 to sign with the Phoenix Suns as a free agent. The Suns had just reached the NBA Finals, losing in six games to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

, and they viewed Green as the missing piece to their championship puzzle. Green posted a career-high average of 14.7 points per game in 1993–94, but the Suns were eliminated in the conference semifinals. In 1994–95 he again contributed double-figure scoring and solid rebounding for the Suns, but his playing time and contributions dipped in 1995–96; though he remained the team's second-leading rebounder. His streak of consecutive games played almost ended during a game with the New York Knicks when J. R. Reid intentionally elbowed him in the face. Green lost two teeth and suffered a head injury but was still able to continue on with his streak by wearing a protective mask and only playing a couple of minutes a game for a few weeks.

Dallas Mavericks (1997–1999)

Green was traded two months into the 1996–97 season to the

in the deal that brought

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...

to Phoenix. He brought reliable rebounding to the rebuilding Mavs. He tied Shawn Bradley for the team lead in rebounding in 1997–98 with 8.1 rpg, but his season highlight came on November 20 against Golden State when he played in his 907th consecutive game, becoming the league's all-time iron man, surpassing Randy Smith's mark of 906 consecutive games played. Green played in his 1,000th consecutive game on March 13, 1999, against Vancouver, and finished the 1998–99 season at 1,028 in a row and counting. After 14 seasons in the league, Green had missed only three games, all during the 1986–87 season (his second in the league).

Return to the Lakers (1999–2000)

On September 1, 1999, Green was traded back to the Los Angeles Lakers for

Sean Rooks Sean Lester Rooks (September 9, 1969 – June 7, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1992 to 2004, and was an Assistant for Player Development for the Philadelphia 76ers ...

and a 2000 second-round pick. During his second stint in Los Angeles, he won his last NBA championship with the Lakers by defeating the resilient

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in five games in the first round, his former team the

also in five games in the second round and finally the talented

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in the Western Conference Finals en route to defeating the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

in six games to win the series and the 2000 NBA Championship, Green's third championship.

Miami Heat (2000–2001)

Green played his final NBA season with the

where he was reunited with

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also s ...

. The Heat made the playoffs, where they were swept 3–0 by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

Iron man streak

Green's 1,192 consecutive games played streak began on November 19, 1986, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The streak ended with the last game of his career on April 18, 2001, when the Miami Heat defeated the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

. In addition to this streak, he also managed to miss only three games throughout his entire playing career, all of which came during his second season in the NBA.

Personal life

Green is a devout Christian. He is known for proclaiming that he began and ended his NBA career as a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymol ...

. He was also known to abstain from smoking or drinking alcohol, even refusing to spray champagne for the cameras after winning championships. During his rookie year, his teammates sent a woman to tempt him to compromise his commitment. In 1989, he established the A.C. Green Youth Foundation, which operates youth camps to promote

abstinence Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc. ...

until marriage. In 2000, he wore a green bear on his head while on the bench during basketball games to promote his foundation. In 2011, he was awarded the Bobby Jones Award by

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

for character, leadership, and faith in the world of basketball, in the home and the community. Green's humanitarian efforts earned him a spot in the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.http://www.ubaindia.com/news/raising-the-game-nba-legendary-ironman-a.c-green-joins-uba/ Green married his wife Veronique in 2002. In 2015, Green was a judge for the 2015 Boost Mobile NBA D-League Slam Dunk Contest.http://dleague.nba.com/news/jarvis-threatt-wins-2015-boost-mobile-slam-dunk-contest/ Jarvis Threatt Wins Boost Mobile Slam Dunk Contest In 2017, Green signed to be the Director of Sports for the

United Basketball Alliance of India The United Basketball Alliance of India, Inc. (UBA India) is "a professional basketball league with teams based in key cities across India for fans of all ages". UBA India was incorporated on 28 September 2015 as a Delaware Corporation. With fi ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 1 , , 18.8 , , .539 , , .167 , , .611 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .6 , , .6 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 79 , , 72 , , 28.4 , , .538 , , .000 , , .780 , , 7.8 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 64 , , 32.1 , , .503 , , .000 , , .773 , , 8.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 82 , , 30.6 , , .529 , , .235 , , .786 , , 9.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 82 , , 33.0 , , .478 , , .283 , , .751 , , 8.7 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .6 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 21 , , 26.4 , , .476 , , .200 , , .738 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , .7 , , .3 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 53 , , 35.4 , , .476 , , .214 , , .744 , , 9.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 55 , , 34.4 , , .537 , , .348 , , .739 , , 8.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 55 , , 34.5 , , .502 , , .229 , , .735 , , 9.2 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .5 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 52 , , 32.8 , , .504 , , .339 , , .732 , , 8.2 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 36 , , 25.8 , , .484 , , .269 , , .709 , , 6.8 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix /

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 83 , , 73 , , 30.0 , , .483 , , .050 , , .650 , , 7.9 , , .8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 68 , , 32.3 , , .453 , , .000 , , .716 , , 8.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 35 , , 18.5 , , .422 , , .000 , , .577 , , 4.6 , , .5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 82 , , 23.5 , , .447 , , .250 , , .695 , , 5.9 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

, 82 , , 1 , , 17.2 , , .444 , , .000 , , .712 , , 3.8 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,278 , , 832 , , 28.6 , , .494 , , .254 , , .734 , , 7.4 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , 9.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 1 , , 12.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 9 , , – , , 11.8 , , .529 , , – , , .444 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , .1 , , .3 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA",

† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 18 , , – , , 28.1 , , .546 , , – , , .747 , , 7.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , .4 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA", 1988† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 24 , , – , , 30.3 , , .544 , , – , , .753 , , 7.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , .5 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 15 , , – , , 33.5 , , .412 , , .000 , , .763 , , 9.1 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 9 , , – , , 28.0 , , .519 , , – , , .750 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 19 , , 1 , , 21.1 , , .423 , , .500 , , .704 , , 5.4 , , .5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 4 , , 4 , , 38.3 , , .410 , , – , , .826 , , 9.0 , , 1.8 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 5 , , 5 , , 44.0 , , .429 , , .000 , , .619 , , 14.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 10 , , 2 , , 35.0 , , .482 , , .412 , , .613 , , 8.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 10 , , 10 , , 36.8 , , .462 , , .083 , , .873 , , 12.0 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 4 , , 4 , , 21.8 , , .353 , , .000 , , .875 , , 4.5 , , .5 , , .3 , , .0 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" bgcolor="AFE6BA",

† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 23 , , 23 , , 18.7 , , .411 , , – , , .696 , , 4.2 , , .6 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .333 , , – , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 153 , , – , , 26.9 , , .475 , , .250 , , .739 , , 7.1 , , .8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 8.6 * Due to a mid-season trade ended up playing a career-high 83 games.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, A.C. 1963 births Living people African-American basketball players African Americans in Oregon All-American college men's basketball players American Christians American men's basketball players Basketball players from Portland, Oregon Benson Polytechnic High School alumni Converts to Christianity Dallas Mavericks players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Miami Heat players National Basketball Association All-Stars Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople