The Denver Nuggets brought in Jeff Green during the summer of 2021 in the hopes that he would be a calming veteran presence who still had plenty to give as a back-up forward. Both of those prophecies turned out to be true, but the Nuggets got even more than expected from the 35-year old in his 14th NBA season.
Amid injuries to much of the team's wing depth, head coach Michael Malone had to restructure rotations, ultimately landing on Green to be the starting power forward and moving Aaron Gordon to the wing defensively.
With this change, Green started in 63 of his 75 games during the regular season and all five postseason games. It was the first time Green had been an everyday starter for a playoff team since his 2012-13 campaign with the Boston Celtics.
So while the Nuggets had to put more trust in Green than they had originally planned, that calming presence they signed him for paid off in a major way. "Uncle Jeff Green" became an integral part of the Nuggets' game plan this season.
Green's Season Timeline
Through the first nine games of 2021-22, Green was in his originally charted out role. He played 16.4 minutes per night off the bench, providing limited -- but quality -- minutes in relief of Michael Porter Jr. and Gordon.
But when Porter Jr. suffered his season-ending back injury, Green was thrust into the starting lineup the very next game. Over the next 15 outings, Green saw his minutes receive a massive uptick, from 16.4 to 29.8.
Normally, when a player gets a drastic increase in workload, their efficiency drops. But Green's ability to stay calm and collected regardless of the situation proved to be a valuable asset. His numbers skyrocketed, becoming a 51.3/38.5/84.1 percentage shooter in his opening stint as a starter.
This incredible stretch was capped off by a 14-point, 13 rebound effort in his 1,000th career NBA game. And perhaps his best performance of the season came against the Los Angeles Lakers in mid-January, when he scored 26 points on 10-of-14 from the field.
Green turned an unfortunate situation into an opportunity to impact the Nuggets in a hugely beneficial way. His performance in the regular season earned him a spot in the starting lineup for the Nuggets' five-game series against the Golden State Warriors.
In the Playoffs, he averaged just 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, but shot the ball efficiently from three and played strong defense against the likes of Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr.
Facts and Figures
Green played 75 games and started in 63 of them during the 2021-22 season.
The veteran forward finished the year with averages of 10.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 52.4% from the field, 31.5% from three, and 83.3% from. the free-throw line.
His 62.7 True Shooting percentage and 62.0% shooting from two-point range both were the highest of his career.
The Nuggets were a plus-2.0 points per 100 possessions when Green was on the floor, the fourth-highest mark of his career.