Questions raced through Jeff Green’s mind after a diagnosis did what NBA guards find difficult to do — it stopped him in his tracks.
“Will I live? Will I ever play basketball again? Will I see my family? How did it happen?”
It’s a strange feeling, said Green, a Memphis Grizzlies forward, to have “something that you love like basketball and life in general being questioned within seconds of thinking you are fine.”
In December 2011, Green learned that the root of his left heart valve, which pumps blood in and out of the heart, was swollen and an aortic aneurism was found during a stress test. Green, who was playing for the Boston Celtics at the time, had surgery in January 2012.
Returning to the NBA, which he entered as a first-round draft and fifth overall pick by the Celtics in 2007, was not foremost in Green’s mind as he lay in a hospital bed for six days unable to move.
“My faith in God was all I had. I had to put all my trust in God and that is what I did. It was all in His hands. I had to accept the process, continue to stay strong and show that I am capable of handling the circumstances that He was giving me,” Green said.
“I am strong in faith. I am someone who always had to stay strong through the circumstances of life I was dealing with. I always had to trust that path that God was leading me on.”
College play
Green played collegiately at Georgetown University in Washington where he was second team All-American and Big East Player of the Year in 2007, averaging 14.3 points per game.
In his seventh season as a pro, Green, who made the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2008, played 2007–08 in Seattle to whom he was traded by Boston; 2008–10 in Oklahoma City; and 2010–14 in Boston. He came to the Grizzlies in 2015. He has averaged 14.1 points per game during his career.
His recovery from heart surgery forced him to miss the 2012 season. But basketball was not what Green was praying about during that time.
“I honestly wasn’t praying about getting back to the game. It was more just seeing another day and getting healthy. The game comes and goes whether you are healthy or not. My thing was being able to see the next day, being able to stay healthy, being able to see my family and hoping they stay strong. Those were my biggest fears.”
More significant than the NBA career he has built has been “the character that I have built for myself, … staying strong in my faith, overcoming the obstacles that I have endured in my life and showing people that this isn’t everything,” he said. “There is more to life than just basketball. A lot of people just see basketball when they see an NBA player.”
Getting back on his feet was rough, Green said, but digging into the Bible has helped.
“I have a lot of people in my life who have helped me with the study of His Word,” he said. “I try to keep that strong bond between those people. I try to stay strong and see His Word and use it in my everyday life.”
When he was a child he was baptized at a Baptist church in Maryland. While playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Green was a member of Fifth Street Missionary Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
“It’s a great church. I found a home there.” He continues to stay in contact with its pastor, A. Byron Coleman, who is chaplain of the Thunder.
Green has been a positive presence for the Grizzlies. Memphis point guard Mike Conley calls Green “a phenomenal person” whose faith is evident.
“He has great faith. He believes. You can see it in the way he lives his life. He is a good role model and that is what you want to be in life,” Conley said.
Jesus means “everything” to Green.
“He is life,” Green said. “He is the one who gives us life. He is the one who watches over us and protects us. We have to put our faith and trust in Him that He is leading us the right way. I wouldn’t be here on this court today if it wasn’t for Him.”
Share with others: