Los Angeles Lakers: Top 30 greatest players of all-time
By Ben Beecken
player. 20. . Power Forward. Los Angeles Lakers. A.C. Green. 13
- Played 9 seasons with Lakers (1985-93, 1999-2000)
- Averaged 10.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game
- 1x All-Star, 3x NBA champion with Lakers
A.C. Green falls under the category of yet another vital role player that was present for two separate Lakers championship squads.
Green was a first-round pick of the Lakers in 1985 and set the tone early, appearing in all 82 regular season games as a rookie. The next year, he played in 79 contests. Then, he didn’t miss a game for the rest of his career. That’s 14 consecutive seasons, and it’s ridiculous. And if you’re scoring at home, that means that Green missed a total of three games in 16 seasons in the NBA.
Green led the Lakers in rebounds in six of his first eight seasons, being named an All-Star during the 1989-90 campaign when he averaged 12.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
As it turned out, Green only surpassed those per-game averaged twice for each category during the remainder of his career. He was remarkably consistent — not hard to believe given that he didn’t miss a game for 14 straight years, of course — averaging the exact same points per game in four seasons in Phoenix as he did in nine years with the Lakers.
In addition to being the NBA’s Iron Man, Green is well-known for making it known that he finished his NBA career as a virgin, despite his teammates’ best efforts.
After being traded to the Suns and playing a couple of years in Dallas with the Mavericks, Green played one more single season with the Lakers in 1999-2000, winning another title, before finishing his career with yet another 82-game season, this time with the Miami Heat.