"We had to practice in whatever we were on the plane with" - Jeremy Lin and Danny Green on how humbling their D-League stints really were originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Jeremy Lin and Danny Green can each call themselves NBA champions — an honor every player dreams of and one that's extremely difficult to achieve.
That said, reaching the promised land was arguably even harder for them. The reason? Both spent time in the D-League, often seen as a dead end for many players. Yet they made it back, and in February 2019, both confirmed that playing in what is now the G-League was truly humbling.
When thinking about Lin and Green as teammates, fans are likely to remember their 2018-19 stint with the Toronto Raptors , which ended with an NBA Finals win over the Golden State Warriors .
But go back to 2011, and you'll see the two actually played together earlier, with the now-defunct Reno Bighorns. Few may know that team, which makes it all the more interesting to hear Jeremy and Danny reflect on the experience during a past appearance on " Inside the Green Room ."
Lin had been sent there by the Warriors to their D-League affiliate, while Green ended up with the team after being cut by the San Antonio Spurs . Both were fighting to return to the big stage, but the grind of playing a level below made that journey far from easy.
"It was tough," Lin recalled. "At that time, it wasn't like it is now."
Instead of flying on NBA luxury planes, travel often meant long bus rides, sometimes up to 11 hours, he said, with players carrying their own gear.
Green , who won three NBA titles, chimed in, saying that bringing his own sneakers, compression gear, and crushed ice for recovery tubs was standard practice.
Equally normal, it was for "random guys from the street" and essentially anyone trying out in practice sessions, which the former 6'6" swingman said made the overall competitiveness on the team very low.
While that was already tough, a few experiences were even harsher, recounted Lin.
"There was one (trip), we had three flights, a two-hour bus ride, and then when we got there, we had to practice in whatever we were on the plane with. Guys were in shoes that were totally not okay to play in, like extremely dangerous," the former New York Knick said.
On another occasion, he remembered being in the gym with his Bighorns teammates, only to be told their practice was pushed back 30 minutes. The reason, as the now 36-year-old said, was that the seventh-grade volleyball team needed a bit more time on the court.
"I had no pride left," Lin said, and it's easy to see why those unprofessional circumstances took a serious mental toll, wearing down his and Green's confidence almost completely.
Looking back, though, both see it as a valuable learning experience. Danny said returning to the big stage made him never take the gear and resources provided for granted. Jeremy agreed, noting he sometimes felt NBA players were treated like "divas."
In the end, both had to endure tough lessons in the early stages of their basketball careers. But for the pair — who together have spent a combined total of 24 years in the league — it shaped them into the players and professionals they became.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
