Orien Greene

Orien Greene
Born	(1982-02-04) February 4, 1982 Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	2005–2016
Known for	NBA career with Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets; international basketball career

Orien Randolph Greene II (born February 4, 1982) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. His NBA journey commenced with the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers during his initial two seasons. Greene also had short engagements with the Sacramento Kings in 2007 and the New Jersey Nets in 2011.

College career

Regarded as a talented point guard, Greene began his collegiate career at the University of Florida but transferred to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette due to limited court time. While at Louisiana-Lafayette, he became well-known within the Sun Belt Conference for his tenacious defense, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in his final year.

In 2007, an NCAA inquiry uncovered that Greene utilized 15 credit hours of correspondence courses from an external institution to maintain his eligibility in 2004, which breached NCAA regulations. Consequently, Louisiana-Lafayette vacated 43 games involving Greene, including NCAA tournament appearances, and accepted a probation period lasting two years.

Professional career

Greene was picked 53rd overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. He initially served as backup to Delonte West, securing this position after roster changes caused by injuries and trades.

On March 29, 2006, the Celtics suspended Greene for one game following a speeding incident near Boston. He was released on June 30, 2006, and subsequently claimed by the Indiana Pacers, where his playing time during the 2006–07 season was limited. The arrival of new players and the presence of starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley restricted his minutes on court.

On August 30, 2007, Greene signed with the Sacramento Kings but was waived after participating in seven games. Later that November, he accepted a short-term contract with the New Zealand Breakers of Australia's NBL to replace an injured teammate.

In 2010, Greene faced a two-year suspension for attempting to interfere with drug testing procedures, with the ban retroactively applied from March 2009.

Following this, he competed for the Utah Flash in the NBA Development League, briefly returning to the NBA via a 10-day contract with the New Jersey Nets in February 2011 before rejoining Utah Flash.

On November 10, 2011, Greene signed with Canada's NBL team, the Halifax Rainmen, before moving back to the D-League with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. In October 2012, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks but was waived later that month and re-signed with the D-Fenders. On February 25, 2013, he was traded to the Reno Bighorns.

In October 2013, Greene played professionally for Al Alhy Benghazi in Libya. By December 2014, he was part of Mexico’s Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, playing for Fuerza Regia. On December 31, 2016, he signed with Venezuela’s Guaros de Lara (basketball) competing in their top professional league.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Boston | 80 || 5 || 15.4 || .395 || .225 || .662 || 1.8 || 1.6 || 1.0 || .1 || 3.2 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Indiana | 41 || 0 || 6.2 || .371 || .182 || .600 || 1.1 || .5 || .4 || .1 || 1.5 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Sacramento | 7 || 2 || 8.7 || .273 || .000 || .000 || .9 || .4 || .4 || .1 || .9 |- | align="left" | 2010–11 | align="left" | New Jersey | 3 || 0 || 1.7 || .500 || .000 || .500 || .0 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 1.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 131 || 7 || 11.9 || .387 || .212 || .642 || 1.5 || 1.2 || .7 || .1 || 2.5

External links

• Louisiana-Lafayette player profile
• Feature article: Challenges Faced by Greene