Of course, Richardson also played at Michigan State, so for Green to pass a fellow Spartans legend for such a significant accolade mattered a whole lot to the 34-year-old.

“Watching him win the national championship at Michigan State and living in that shadow, trying to win my own championship, he’s No. 23 – being the next guy from Saginaw to come in as 23, living in that shadow wasn’t something that I shied away from. I embraced it,” Green told reporters. “So, to pass him here, it’s a special feeling.”

Green has been impressive from 3-point range for a couple of years in a row now. He shot 39.5 percent from downtown last season, and thus far during the 2024-25 campaign, he has connected on 36.9 percent of his long-range attempts.

That came after a seven-year stretch in which Green managed to shoot 30 percent or better from long distance just three times, and he never hit 31 percent in any of those seasons.

“Knowing the journey I’ve had to go through, had I not lost my confidence I probably would have been there three to four years ago, but I completely lost all confidence in my shot,” Green said. “But to rediscover that … when you lose confidence in the NBA, people don’t understand, when you lose confidence playing against the best people in the world at something — do you know how hard it is to get that back?”

The Saginaw, Michigan native is averaging 8.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists over 28.6 minutes per game this year.

While Green is certainly not the same player he was during the heyday of his career, he remains a vital contributor on both ends for Golden State.

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