Danny Green says this season was one of the most fun of his career

Danny Green came to the Lakers this season after bringing Canada its first-ever NBA championship one year ago. The crowds of Raptors fans at Jurassic Park were legendary, as was the parade that followed.

And yet, the 11-year veteran told Chris McGee of Spectrum SportsNet that this 2019-20 Lakers campaign is one of the most fun he has ever been a part of.

“Definitely, and not even from an individual, personal success standpoint. I wasn’t having my best season as an individual player, but just being around the guys, and having fun with the group, and how much success our group was having. I think guys understood the bigger picture and were having so much fun. Nobody really cared the numbers that they got, or what they were doing individually. We had so many different pieces bringing so much to the table to where we were having fun and winning games whether we’re playing 10-15 minutes, 20-25 minutes or five minutes. Guys didn’t really care because we were having so much fun.

“This has definitely been one of the most seasons I’ve had since I’ve been in the league because we were winning, and because nobody was fighting over time, minutes or touches. Everybody just did their part, fell in line and did their role to the best of their ability.”

Winning, ultimately, is fun for everyone. The Lakers won 78 percent of their games before the regular season was suspended, the best in the Western Conference, and clearly delighted in doing so. But team success has been no stranger to Green in his NBA career. Before winning a title in Toronto, Green spent the majority of his professional career in San Antonio, whose winning record in the 21st century is near-unparalleled.

Green’s testament that this Lakers season was among the most fun suggests that there really was something special in that team chemistry that all of the players talked about, or that the Spurs are simply as dull as we have all come to suspect. Green wasn’t at his best this year, by his own admission, but he still managed to thoroughly enjoy the environment in Los Angeles. The credit for creating that atmosphere starts with Frank Vogel, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis; however, as Green notes, everyone was comfortable in their roles and contributed to the success and merriment of the group.

The fact that this team was so much fun has made the hiatus even more bitter in comparison. The Lakers weren’t just bad for much of this decade — they were joyless. To finally have a team worth investing in emotionally and have it taken away has been hard on every fan, and it sounds like it’s been hard on the players as well. If this NBA season doesn’t return, at least the players on this team will have many fond memories to look back on.

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