Garlon Green definitely had a vision for his basketball journey, and a long career in the NBA was at the center of it.
More than 12 years in, the NBA piece hasn’t really materialized for the former Hightower standout, but he has managed to string together more than a decade of playing ball overseas. It hasn’t been the NBA, but he has been able to carve out a lucrative career while exposing his children to nations and cultures they may have only read about.
Making it even sweeter is that Garlon has been able to continue playing the sport he has loved as long as he can remember.
“My motivation is just the love of the game. I love hoops. I’ve always loved it,” Garlon said. “It was something that I was into when I was a little kid.
“Hoops was always something that I loved. Even to this day, I just turn on the TV just to watch the highlights.”
Garlon was drawn to the game by watching his brother Gerald Green, who is five years older, play and wishing he could join him. Gerald is a local basketball legend who, a few years ago, virtually came off his couch to play with the Rockets.
The two always dreamed of playing together on the court, so four years ago, Gerald pitched the idea of them playing together in the BIG3. Garlon was initially hesitant because he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to commit during his overseas offseason.
But the lure of playing alongside his big brother and his love for the game were enough to convince him.
“Growing up, that was like one of my dreams to be able to share a court with him, play with him and do something together,” Garlon said. “The BIG3 was giving us an opportunity to do that, so that’s been pretty cool.”
Gerald and Garlon have spent the last three summers playing together in Ice Cube’s popular 3-on-3 league. Last season, Garlon made the title-clinching shot and won the BIG3 championship.
Garlon, who was in town when the BIG3 came to Houston recently as a member of the Rig Hands franchise, is back for a fourth summer. Gerald has sat this season out because of an injury. However, Garlon is still enjoying the game and the competition in a league comprising former NBA players and overseas players who are home for the summer and looking for a way to remain active.
“What you’ve got on the court is high-level athletes,” said Garlon, who also played at TCU from 2009-13 before beginning his overseas career. “Everyone is somewhere playing professionally, if not, having played in the league. So everybody has this level of mentality that they have to have. It’s like anything, it’s a competitive field, so the league is tough for sure.”
Rig Hands’ first-year head coach Calvin Murphy says Garlon fits right in with the league’s mentality. Murphy, a former star guard for the Rockets and current Rockets commentator, questions why Garlon, 34, never got a real NBA shot.
“He is the kind of guy who should have had a chance to try to be in the NBA,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, it’s not enough room. I enjoy Garlon very much. We talk a great deal. We’ve gotten to be friends quickly. I’m wishing nothing but the very best for him.
“I’m hoping that this leads to something bigger and better for him.”
At this stage, the NBA doesn’t seem to be a priority for Garlon. The 6-foot-7 swingman is enjoying his time in the South of France, playing for the Anitbes Sharks, a high-level club.
He has appreciated his basketball journey and what it has afforded him and taught him along the way.
“It’s been amazing. The BIG3 is the best 3-on-3 basketball league in the world. They are playing high-level players. You get a chance to play in front of amazing fans. The energy is crazy.”
Garlon Green
“It has its ups and downs like everybody has their ups and downs,” Garlon said. “But to be honest, by the grace of God, I’m thankful for my basketball journey. It’s taught me so much about myself, but also how to handle life, how to come closer to my faith with God and just have that spiritual foundation and just grow. I’m super grateful.
“The dream for me was always the NBA, like everybody else, but I also loved the game of basketball. So when the NBA was kind of out of reach, I wanted to hoop, so I was like, `Let’s go overseas.’ I got out of it more than I expected and that’s what I’m thankful for.”
For now, Garlon is having a blast playing in the BIG3. He has gotten to know Ice Cube and has doubled as the league’s youth program co-director, known as the Young3 for the past couple of years. It’s a youth basketball clinic that puts on camps in the cities where the BIG3 stops and is free to underprivileged kids. They also have a chance to be mentored by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers like Julius “Dr. J” Ervin, George Gervin, Nancy Lieberman and Gary Payton, who are all coaches in the BIG3.
“This is Ice Cube planning all of this,” Garlon said. “And I’m thankful to him for allowing me the opportunity to be directing this. That’s Ice Cube. That’s who he is. He is growing, he’s expanding, and he is touching everyone and you can tell he cares.”
