Gerald Green

Gerald Green (born January 26, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player.

He was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 18th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft.

Known for his dunking skill, he has performed well in many slam dunk competitions, having won the 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest and the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, while finishing as the runner-up in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Green was born in Houston, Texas.

When he was in the 6th grade, he was involved in an accident that left a significant portion of his right ring finger cut off.

He was wearing a ring on his right ring finger when he attempted a dunk on a makeshift basketball hoop.

The ring caught onto a nail on the goal and his finger was ripped, with amputation being the only option.

Green did not play high school basketball until his sophomore year, when he played junior varsity for J. Frank Dobie High School.

In his junior year, he made the varsity team, but his play was cut short because of academic issues.

Green transferred to a charter school, Gulf Shores Academy in Houston where he repeated his junior year.

In his senior year at Gulf Shores, he averaged 33 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocked shots per game.

He was named an All-American and was the high scorer with 24 points in the 2005 McDonald's All-American Game, which features two teams composed of the best high school basketball players in the United States.

Green also won the McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest that year, defeating future Duke player Josh McRoberts.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Green was listed as the No. 1 player in the nation in 2005.

Green originally committed to Oklahoma State University, but later decided to enter the NBA draft upon graduation.

He hired an agent, thereby making himself ineligible to participate in NCAA athletics.

Green was expected by many analysts to be one of the top players chosen but he fell to the Celtics, who selected him with the 18th pick in the 2005 NBA draft.

His fall is attributed to his decision to give individual workouts only for the teams with the top six picks prior to the draft.

Green was one of the last players to enter the NBA directly from high school, as the collective bargaining agreement between NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association now mandates that American players who enter the draft must be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class and reach age 19 no later than December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.

During the preseason, Green averaged 8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game for the Celtics in the 2005 Las Vegas Summer League.

He had shown flashes of his capability during the end of the 2005–06 season, but started off the 2006–07 season slowly, earning a somewhat limited role and playing time behind captain Paul Pierce, and swingman Wally Szczerbiak.

With injuries to Szczerbiak and Pierce, his playing time increased, but he was unable to nail down a starting role.

Green started his first-ever game early December against the Philadelphia 76ers, but then lost his job to a returning Szczerbiak.

After seeing limited playing time during the first part of the season, Green was placed on the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA D-League by the Celtics in January 2006.

He was recalled and activated to an NBA roster position on February 3.

He was reassigned to the NBDL, to the Florida Flame, on February 16.

He was recalled and activated again on February 21, and saw his first significant NBA game action on the following night, scoring 13 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in 23 minutes.

He appeared in 32 games and averaged 11.8 minutes, 5.2 points, and 1.2 rebounds during these contests.

Green left marks on the league with his highlight plays including a shot clock beating half court three against Indiana and two SportsCenter top play dunks in the closing seconds in two games against the Toronto Raptors.

Over the off-season, Green aimed at improving all aspects of his game in order to gain playing time.

Green finished the 2006–07 season averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

On February 17, 2007, Green won the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, beating out Nate Robinson, Tyrus Thomas, and Dwight Howard.

The season was going very well for Green.

On March 16, 2007, he scored a career-high 25 points in a Celtics loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and on April 10, 2007, Green topped that with 33 points (12–22 FG, 4–5 3FG) at Atlanta.

On July 31, 2007, it was made official that Green was to be traded along with Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and draft picks, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett.

At Minnesota, Green found himself stuck on the bench behind a number of players at his same position.

In early January 2008, Green's agent asked the Timberwolves to trade his client.

At the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Green opened the competition with a dunk he called "The Birthday Cake" in which he blew out a birthday candle on a cupcake set on the back of the rim while dunking.

He followed that up with an alley-oop two-handed windmill.

His first dunk of the second round was an alley-oop from behind the basket which he put between his legs before dunking.