I don’t often discuss what happens with players off the court. But, dammit if I’m not going to share this fantastic ESPN 30-for-30 short film with you on A.C. Green called “Iron Virgin”.
Green, who had two stints with the Lakers and won three championships (1987, 1988, 2000), was the hard working, blue collar type player most title teams have at least one of. He defended, rebounded, ran the floor, finished inside*, and even had a pretty reliable 15-18 foot jumper. He was a key contributor to the Showtime teams and even made an All-Star game in 1990.
While Green boasted a portable game (he could have been a high level contributor on countless teams), what he was best known for during his career were two traits: his durability and his virginity.
Over a 16 year career, Green only missed 3 games — all in his 2nd season. For the final 14 years of his career, he played in 1,192 consecutive games — including one year (1996-97) where, after being traded mid-season, he actually played in 83 games.
As for his virginity…well, let’s just say the same commitment Green showed to getting on the court to play was taken off the court to staying abstinent. Which was no small feat considering the team he played on and the city he lived in.
ESPN’s 30-for-30 series took a look at these two aspects of his career and put together the great short film below. It’s got cameos from plenty of his teammates (Worthy, Byron, Kareem) as well as Gary Vitti and Jerry West. The video is great.
*On the court
harold says
Just saw this. If only Magic followed his example…
stats says
AC Green: Certainly in my top-10 of favorite Lakers. Loved the daily effort.
Glad to see that the Lakers are taking a look at Mamadou from UCI for the draft: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2016/5/9/11644620/la-lakers-draft-rumors-lottery-odds-mamadou-ndiaye My guess is that nothing will come of it, but he’s a good kid and a dedicated student with a great story…. and potentially a huge upside on the court. I’d love to see him get a shot, and it’d be wonderful to watch him continue to grow here in the Southland.
LT Mitchell says
Hahaha. That was hilariously entertaining. Half way through the video, I had to pause it so I could google “is AC Green still a virigin?”. The suspense was too much.
I stil remember AC making the all-star team as a starter over Karl Malone, who happened to be one of my least favorite players.
Clay Bertrand says
I remember when AC got his teeth knocked out by JR Reid. As I recall, it didn’t affect his IRON MAN streak. I don’t believe his IRON VIRGIN streak was affected either…….
Fulofunk says
Thanks for that Darius. I don’t own a Laker Jersey right now, but my next one will ba an A.C. Green……fo Sho. I remember him puttin down that champagne in the locker room that night, funny how somethings you never forget, and that was one of met main memories of that championship year…weird, but it made an impact on me.
I forgot, with the swirling chaos of he last few years, but I will have to say going forward, that AC is/was my Laker Fav and this brought it all back. Keepin a wrinkle in it, though unbelievably tough to do ( I can only imagine), has kept him from so much grief, on so many levels over the years no doubt…..I’ll spell it out for the young fellas…..disease, divorce, depression….but to only miss 3 games his entire career…the way he played? Lawd Have Mucy! This was the guy I wish could have played his entire career with the Lakers…He da Man!…( just Keepin it 80’s y’all)