6. Jeff Green
Durant and Green were teammates from day one in the NBA. KD was the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and Green went fifth overall. The Sonics drafted Durant and traded Ray Allen for Green just before their final season in Seattle. The duo’s friendship goes back further than their NBA days, though. The two top-five picks got to know each other as teenagers and remain close.
They spent three and half seasons playing with each other before Green was traded to Boston in 2011 for Kendrick Perkins. Green averaged 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in 34.5 minutes per game playing next to KD in Seattle/Oklahoma City. The 6’8 forward has bounced around the league, including playing for the 2018 Cavaliers, who lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Green reunited with Durant in Brooklyn for the 2020-21 season. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 27.0 minutes per game. Green scored 27 points in the Nets Game 5 win over the Bucks that put them up 3-2 in the second-round series. Giannis Antetokounmpo led his team to two straight wins to knock out the Nets, but Green again made an impact next to Durant.
Both parties will have interest in a reunion this summer, but will Jeff Green leave the Denver Nuggets to join his friend and former teammate on the Phoenix Suns? It is something to watch this summer.