Former NBA player Danny Green was fortunate to play alongside some truly special players during his 15-year NBA career. Green was teammates with the likes of Tim Duncan and LeBron James, and was asked about the leadership skills of the superstars he played with on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast.
“Surprisingly, people think Timmy was quiet, but he’s not a quiet guy,” Green said. “… He don’t really talk a lot in [the media], but Timmy spoke. He was a leader vocally, by action on the court.”
Green and Duncan were teammates on the San Antonio Spurs from 2010 to 2016. They went to the NBA Finals twice in that time, in 2013 and 2014. They lost to James’ Miami Heat in 2013 and then beat them in the rematch in 2014. Years later, Green and James would team up on the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2019-20 season. After costing each other a championship earlier, they won one together in 2020.
Green looks back fondly on his time playing with James and Duncan.
“Those two are the most humble, and Timmy’s by far the most humblest superstar I’ve ever been around,” Green stated. “He was just encouraging to the point where you just forget that he was Tim Duncan. He didn’t treat himself like a superstar. He actually treated everybody else, like he encouraged us to shoot the ball more. Bron was still very humble, too. Great big kid. Likes to play around all the time. Have a lot of fun.”
Co-host Jay Wagers asked Green if James was a bigger kid than Shaquille O’Neal, another all-time great he played with. He stated they were very similar but also different.
“Shaq is more of like… ‘I taught him how to shoot, do it this way,'” Green said. “Shaq knows everything. Bron is not that, but they’re still two big a** kids. They play around all the time and joke. So I had a lot of fun with Bron, too. He’ll have his moments where he’ll b******* at you.
“Timmy never had those moments,” Green added. “That’s why people probably put Tim. That’s why I probably put Tim. But Bron was great, too. They were right there one and two.”
There really wasn’t any sort of drama when it came to Duncan. He was a coach’s dream both on and off the court and made life so much easier for former Spurs head honcho Gregg Popovich.
Duncan’s leadership and play helped the Spurs win five NBA championships. To go with all those titles, he also won two MVPs and three Finals MVPs. Duncan made 15 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 15 All-Defensive teams as well. He is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time.
Duncan’s former teammate, Stephen Jackson, believes he had the best NBA career after James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. The fact that almost everyone who played with him speaks so glowingly of him tells you not just how good he was on the court, but also off it.
As for James, his leadership style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he has earned praise for it. As Green mentioned, there are times when he might rub you the wrong way, but you’ll have plenty of fun.
