CAMDEN, N.J. — In the early stages of Game 6 in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat, Joel Embiid drove to the basket, but he fell on his way to the bucket.
Embiid took a tumble and he fell directly on Green, who was in obvious pain on the ground. Green was unable to finish the game and was diagnosed with a torn ACL.
Considering the veteran had been in the league for 13 years at that point, was 34 years old, and had already won three titles, one could assume retirement was probably coming. However, Green wasn’t going out like that.
Green worked tirelessly and he returned to the floor on Feb. 1 for the Memphis Grizzlies. He ended up playing in 11 games in the 2022-23 season for Memphis and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now, back with the Sixers, Green is ready to get back at it.
“I had some amazing PTs,” Green said. “They were great. They got me back. A quick spin, but I feel even better now. This summer, I’ve been able to focus on other parts of the rehab, but keeping the knee right, keeping the the quads and the muscles right.”
Green claims he is ready to get back at it and he is looking to earn a spot on the roster in order to help the Sixers win. Philadelphia could always use another shooter and Green provides it. He is a career 40% shooter from deep. He shot 39.5% from deep in two seasons with the Sixers.
“This is the best my body’s felt in a long time, especially having kind of a year off to just focus on those things,” Green added. “So I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity to not just prove to everyone around me, but to myself that I can still be who I was before I left here.”
Also, considering the way things ended for Green in his first go-around with the Sixers, he has his mind focused on achieving his goals in Philadelphia.
“We had a great opportunity in my first year,” Green recalled. “We lost to Atlanta in the second round. I feel like if I was healthy, we’d have a better shot at getting over that hump. … Then in my second year, even though Joel was out the first two games, he had a broken face at the time, we played really good basketball at home. We evened the series at 2. I was in really good rhythm. If I didn’t get injured, things may have gone different.”
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