A.C. Green’s post-Los Angeles Lakers career:
We talked about post-playing careers in the intro, but we are going to make an exception in this case, because the Iron Man had a very long and healthy career.
In 1999, six years after his last game in a purple and gold uniform, A.C Green returned to the Lakers, at 36 years old, to be a stabilizing presence as a veteran with championship experience, that Phil Jackson always wanted on his teams.
He played a minor role in that 2000 NBA champion team, but he was the starting power forward, an enforcer and supporting piece in the triangle offense with Shaquille O’Neal. It was Iron Man next to Superman.
No need to say that he played all 82 games in the regular season, averaging 5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and started all 32 playoff games, thus adding another Lakers championship to his previous two from the Showtime era.
If there is a guy who has been a bridge between the Showtime and the Kobe-Shaq era, that is A.C., who closed the circle returning to LA and creating a connection between the two ages of Lakers basketball.