A.C. Green Makes Mark As NBA Iron Man -- Thursday Will Mark 907Th Game In A Row

DALLAS - He's played through cuts, bruises and cramps. He's endured a torn thumb ligament, a neck so stiff he could barely turn and dehydration brought on by food poisoning. He even wore a plastic mask for a dozen games after an opponent whacked out two of his front teeth with an elbow.

Ever since A.C. Green was left on the bench for three games early in his second NBA season, the lanky forward with the contagious smile and clean lifestyle has been impossible to get out of the lineup.

If he can last a few more days without a catastrophe, Green will have beat the odds and outlasted everyone else in NBA history. On Thursday, when his Dallas Mavericks play host to the Golden State Warriors, Green will appear in his 907th straight game, breaking Randy Smith's 14-year-old league record.

"The streak started because I wanted to play in every game and it will continue for that reason," Green said. "I've always been ready and I'm very proud of that."

Smith will be courtside to honor Green, along with baseball's Iron Man, Cal Ripken Jr., former teammate Magic Johnson, NBA vice president Rod Thorn and Green's parents. The Mavericks will raise a "907" banner.

Going into the weekend, Green had missed just three games in his 13-year career, when coach Pat Riley kept him on the Los Angeles Lakers' bench in 1986. Without that interruption, Green would be close to 1,000 straight games.

The 34-year-old Green said he's never missed a game on any level because of injury, "not even in peewee league," and he rarely misses a chance to play pickup games in the offseason.

"If we're going to compete today, I'm there," he said. "But it's more than luck. I've been blessed."

Green is often overlooked because he's so businesslike. There's no pointing to the sky after a good play or any other attention-grabbing antics. He has always provided tight defense, reliable rebounding and about 12 points a game on tip-ins, put-backs and short jumpers.

His faith is the most important thing in his life and has been since he was 17. The energy and dedication that has kept him a devout Christian is the same resolve that has kept him on the court through eight seasons with the Lakers, two-plus with the Phoenix Suns and about one full year with Dallas.

"Whatever I put my hand to, I do with all my heart," said Green, who doesn't smoke, drink or - because he's never married - have sex. "I feel like I am compromising if I don't put my heart into it.

"I learned from reading the Bible that the guys in God's Army were warriors. They had a mentality that they were going to kick some behind. ... That is the mentality that I learned early on."

Green became religious just before enrolling at Oregon State. While there, he surrounded himself with "serious-thinking, God-fearing, family oriented people who took responsibility for themselves and made sacrifices to make sure their goals were met."

Then the Lakers made Green a first-round pick in 1985, luring him into a den of temptation. Imagine being a 22-year-old rookie making NBA money in that place and at that time, the height of the "Showtime" era.

But Green resisted it all, as best symbolized by a moment caught on camera.

The Lakers had just won the NBA title - which they did in his second and third seasons - and bottles of champagne were being passed around the locker room. A national audience happened to see Green being handed a bottle, then putting it down and going on with the celebration without taking a sip.

Because it came so naturally, Green doesn't really remember the details. But even now, a decade later, he hears about it all the time.

"That's what I'm supposed to do," he said. "It wasn't even a conscious decision."

Another moment that defined Green's career and his religious devotion came in a game between the Suns and New York Knicks on Feb. 25, 1996.

Green and J.R. Reid were under the basket when Reid slammed an elbow into Green's mouth so viciously that he not only knocked out two teeth, but cracked the sockets that held them.

For most people, the instinct would be to fight back. Not Green. He picked up his teeth and left the court.

"It took a big, big guy to walk away," said Michael Finley, then a Suns rookie and now Green's teammate in Dallas. "That just shows what kind of guy he is."

Charles Barkley, also on the Suns at the time, told Green, "Now I know you're a real Christian."

Reid, who said he was responding to rough play and denied targeting Green, was suspended by the NBA for two games without pay and fined $10,000. Green, meanwhile, was fitted with a protective shield and played 68 seconds the next game, keeping the streak alive and proving it would take more than a cheap shot to knock him out.

Green's lifestyle almost seems out of place in a league with Barkley's mouth, Allen Iverson's bad-boy image and Dennis Rodman's wackiness.

But he doesn't let it get him down.

"I'm used to that because that's what sells, what people gravitate to," he said. "But it's a double-standard because people want (athletes) to be more responsible and the ones that are, they don't pay attention to."

When Green was traded to the woeful Mavericks last December, it meant he would not make the playoffs for the first time in his career. And because Dallas was so young and so bad, he would have to go from being a quiet role player to a vocal leader.

"It challenged me in a lot of ways," Green said.

But he has adapted and thrived. He quickly became a locker-room leader respected by his teammates and he has performed well on the court. This season, the 6-foot-9 Green had at least 10 rebounds in each of the first six games to rank him among the league leaders.

"A lot of people are not as committed as he is," said second-year forward Samaki Walker. "He comes to play and treats it as a job, but he also has fun."

Added coach Jim Cleamons: "A.C. has been worth his weight in gold."

Green has one year left on his contract, but he wants to play as long as possible. Although a guy his age with his experience could help a team gunning for a title, he'd like to stay in Dallas and help the Mavericks regain credibility.

When he does retire, Green will have plenty to keep him busy.

He owns several Denny's restaurants in Portland, Ore., and has a line of sportswear for big and tall men called MKO Man. The letters stand for "my kind of" man, meaning integrity and character.

He often speaks at churches and schools and is heavily involved in his foundation, which sponsors an abstinence program and runs a weeklong summer leadership camp that teaches inner-city kids about basketball and introduces them to future job opportunities.

All that's missing, he says, is someone to share all this with.

"I'm ready and able to commit to a relationship," said Green, whose celibacy streak is nearing 12,500 days. "I haven't yet because I haven't found the person to do that with. Now is the time for it."