Danny Green finally receives 2019 NBA championship ring and prepares for increased playoff role

TORONTO — Danny Green took the stage Wednesday night at a venue called the Rec Room located a few blocks from Scotiabank Arena, where a crowd in Raptors gear gleefully cheered even though Green is now an opponent.

The live show featuring Green, “Inside the Green Room” podcast co-host Harrison Sanford, and Raptors forward Chris Boucher was a reminder of the meaningful connection Green quickly built with Toronto after arriving with Kawhi Leonard in one of the more significant trades in NBA history and immediately helping deliver the franchise’s first title in his only season. It was also an opening act for Thursday night, when Green finally received his 2019 championship ring in front of a capacity crowd in a better-late-than-never celebration because of pandemic restrictions and the Raptors’ temporary relocation to Tampa last season.

The bizarre 743 days since Green was originally supposed to receive the hardware included Thursday’s surprising on-court shift, when Green returned to the 76ers’ starting lineup because Matisse Thybulle was ineligible to enter Canada because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19. Fittingly, Green followed the pregame festivities by putting together his best performance of the season, scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 from three-point range and adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the Sixers’ 119-114 loss.

“It felt great to just get some good looks,” Green said. “ … Knowing that we were a man down and we may possibly be a man down if we do match up with [Toronto] again, I’m going to have to step up. So is everybody else.”

Since winning that title as the Raptors’ 3-and-D wing — a run that included Leonard’s iconic bouncing game-winner against the Sixers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals — Green has played for two teams in three seasons. He won a second consecutive championship, this time with the Los Angeles Lakers, at the conclusion of the NBA’s bubble restart at the beginning of the pandemic, before signing with the Sixers prior to the 2020-21 season.

Though the 13-year veteran’s experience and mentorship have remained valuable with the Sixers, this has been a challenging “roller-coaster-ride-type season,” Green said.

His scoring average of 5.9 points per game is his lowest since he became a full-time NBA player, while his shooting percentages from the floor (39.4) and from three-point range (38.2) are his worst since 2017-18 with San Antonio. A multitude of injuries, plus a stint in health and safety protocols, resulted in him playing in a career-low 60 regular-season games with two remaining this weekend.

The most recent ailment, a nasty laceration on his finger last month, elicited a reaction of, “Come on, man. Like seriously? Right now?”

“It’s not what I imagined for myself,” Green said. “It’s not what I could predict and certainly not what I would want.”

Throughout those hiccups, Thybulle ascended into the starting lineup, his defensive prowess outweighing his offensive limitations and inconsistency. Green, meanwhile, acknowledges he has struggled to establish rhythm, not just with his shot or his minutes but also while using baseline cuts and other off-ball movement to play off the teammates with whom he shares the floor. Though Green said now is the time to ramp up physically for the playoffs, Sixers coach Doc Rivers added the 34-year-old is “not a spring chicken, so he’s a guy that you always have to monitor and watch his movement.”

“It’s been a whirlwind of trying to figure out and adjusting to it,” Green said.

Green had already envisioned scenarios during the playoffs where he and Thybulle could play together to try to counter the Raptors’ and Boston Celtics’ long wings. But if Thybulle’s unvaccinated status does not change, Green’s role would become even more critical should the Raptors become the Sixers’ first-round opponent and Thybulle is unable to play in road games.

Per Basketball Reference, that was the most likely scenario even before the Raptors’ win Thursday night. The Sixers had a 46.7% chance of finishing fourth entering the game, while the Raptors had an 89.8% chance of landing in fifth. The Sixers had a 32.1% chance of rising to third and 20.3% chance moving up to second in a probability report that does not take variables such as teams resting players down the stretch into account.

Green emphasized he would rather his team be complete than him get more playing time. He knows how a championship contender looks and feels heading into the postseason. And the Sixers are still developing after acquiring All-Star guard James Harden at the trade deadline.

“I’m not happy about it,” Green said. “… Most guys, I don’t want to say [are] disappointed, but … it’s still a point in the season when we’re still trying to gauge who we are, where we are. The only way to do that is to have everybody together. It’s tough to do that when we don’t have everybody.”

Green alluded to that during his Wednesday conversation with Boucher, noting the Raptors have the “vaccination advantage” in this season’s playoffs. They also reminisced about their time as teammates, played trivia games with fans, signed autographs, and took photos.

» READ MORE: Toronto Raptors edge Sixers, 119-114, in potential first-round playoff preview | Analysis

Thursday night, Green arrived at the arena wearing a sparkly red jacket and replicas of his rings with the Spurs, Raptors and Lakers hanging around his neck. He was pulled aside in the hallway outside the Sixers’ locker room for an interview for the Raptors’ television broadcast. As a tribute video played just before tipoff, fans hollered “Danny!” from the stands.

Then, Green walked to center court to meet former teammates Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. The crowd rose to its feet for a rousing ovation. And Danny finally took hold of his 2019 NBA championship ring and raised it into the air.

“It was everything I expected it to be,” Green said.