An episode about Jeff Green, currently in the Denver Nuggets, 10 years after his life-saving heart surgery was added to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski podcast series.
Jeff Green talks about himself, from the early years of his career (drafted in 2007 by the Seattle Supersonics, in which Kevin Durant also played), to 15 seasons (also changing 11 jerseys) and heart surgery, to close with some considerations on his current team , the Nuggets.
The operation
In 2011 Jeff Green was diagnosed with an aneurysm, as a result of which he urgently moved from Boston (where he was playing at that time) to Cleveland, to a specialized clinic.
The player talks about it like this:
The news of the aneurysm came out of nowhere, I was doing medical examinations for the Celtics; after taking the “stress test” the doctor said that the results were confusing and even he didn’t quite know how to analyze them, so much so that after he called two assistants, they all told me there was nothing to worry about. Two days later my agent called me to tell me that I had a heart problem, my first thought was: “I won’t be able to play basketball anymore”
Jeff Green on how he discovered the aneurysm
The recovery
After the surgery gave a positive result, Green told how he didn’t think he could resume playing:
When I arrived at the Cleveland clinic to begin my recovery, I asked the doctor if I could return to the field, but I would have expected a sharp ban on his part; instead, he calmly explained to me that there was no need to stop. From there my head clicked, I decided to take the rehabilitation much more seriously to make sure everything went smoothly
Jeff Green on the moment he found out he could return to the pitch
The scar on his chest
Uncle Jeff then focuses on the reaction of some comrades, who may not have known his story, when they saw the scar on his chest for the first time in the locker room:
It has happened to me practically in all the teams in which I have been to have to tell the story of that injury to someone; for example, here in Denver both younger players, like rookie Bones Hyland, and more experienced players like Austin Rivers and Will Barton asked me from day one, who had no idea what it was.
After I told them about it they were very impressed with all the hard work I had to do to get back to playingJeff Green on peers’ reactions to the scar
The relationship with Jokic
Going back to talking about Jeff Green’s present, or the Nuggets, Woj’s question on MVP, Nikola Jokic, cannot be missing:
Jokic is undoubtedly in the top 3 of the most technical players I’ve ever played with, with LeBron and KD. Compared to them, however, he has much less consideration, even if it does not weigh on him; he is the humblest and quietest player of all the great champions I have played with
Jeff Green and Nikola Jokic
The entire interview lasts over 40 minutes, these are the salient passages, but we recommend listening to it to anyone who understands a little English, both because it is very well done (Woj proves once again to be one of the best sports journalists around ), and because Jeff Green, with all he has been through and the experience he has, really has a lot to tell.
