Just over a decade ago, Willie Green played an instrumental role in the 2010-11 New Orleans Hornets reaching the Western Conference playoffs, after they had missed the postseason the previous campaign, partly due to key injuries. Green is in a similar situation in his first season as an NBA head coach, guiding the Pelicans through a difficult start to 2021-22 and into contention for a play-in tournament berth, with the hopes of ending a three-season playoff drought. The 12-year NBA guard and Detroit native is the guest for this week’s Pelicans.com “24 Seconds” Q&A article:
Pelicans.com: Having been a player yourself not long ago, what are some of the things you try to stress to players?
Green: I think my message is pretty simple. We have to be a team that understands that everything counts. From the time you wake up, what you eat, your weights, your body work, your practice time, what you do after practice. That all contributes to you as an individual, but also collectively as a team. So we have to have an understanding that this all is a part of winning and creating championship habits.
Pelicans.com: Was that something that you appreciated as a player? Or something you learned more and more as you coach?
Green: A little bit of both. It’s definitely something I appreciated as a player. I don’t know if I had as great of an understanding of it as I have now, but as I’ve gotten into coaching, I realize how important it is to take advantage of the opportunity that's in front of you, because this is a short window in our lives and (players’) lives, especially playing.
Pelicans.com: You played with many All-Star teammates, such as Chris Paul and David West here in New Orleans. Is there anything you take from their careers? Things you can apply as a player or coach?
Green: I definitely pull a lot from those guys. They’ve shown me what it takes to win at a high level, and they all have the same ingredients. Number one, they’re highly competitive and they’ll do what it takes to win a game, but also to make sure collectively that the team is putting the team first. They work extremely hard at their craft every day. There are no days off. Once again, everything counts. And those are the things that I want to implement with our team.
Pelicans.com: Do you have a favorite moment from when you were playing here?
Green: My favorite moment playing here was just our group. That year 2010-11, we were sort of an underdog team. Nobody really looked at us as a playoff team. And then we went on a great run, played the Lakers in the first round, pushed them to six games, but that bond that we created with each other, but also with the city, it went a long way with us. And I’m forever grateful for that opportunity that I had with that group.