Pelicans name Willie Green new head coach

Willie Green (YouTube)

According to nba.com, Willie Green of Detroit, Michigan has been named as the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday. This will be Green’s first head coaching position, as he was the assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors for three years from 2016 to 2019, and then with the Phoenix Suns the last two seasons from 2019 to 2021.

In his first two seasons as an assistant coach, Green was able to accomplish something he was not able to do as a player, and that was to win the NBA Finals. In both seasons while working alongside Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the championship.

After winning the NBA Finals twice, Green reached the NBA Finals on two more occasions. In 2019, the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors, and in 2021, the Suns lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. While most teams do not wait for the NBA Finals to finish before hiring a head coach, the Pelicans did and now have Green as their new bench boss.

Green takes over from Stan Van Gundy in New Orleans. Van Gundy was only with the Pelicans for a single season before posting a record of 31 wins and 41 losses, and parting ways with New Orleans on June 16.

As a player, Green was a shooting guard in the NBA for 12 seasons. He was with the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Orlando Magic from 2003 to 2015. His finest season was with the 76ers in  2007-08, when he averaged 12.4 points per game.

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