"We will tell him, 'Bron you need to do this'" - Danny Green says LeBron James set the tone for accountability inside the Lakers locker room

“We will tell him, ‘Bron you need to do this'” – Danny Green says LeBron James set the tone for accountability inside the Lakers locker room originally appeared on Basketball Network.

LeBron James didn’t have the most notable of starts to his Los Angeles Lakers career.

Aside from battling the first major injury of his professional life, the 2018–19 season saw James missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Despite his presence, the Lakers still couldn’t climb into the postseason and for the first time in 12 years, his name was left off the All-NBA First Team.

It was a shift in the narrative, a pause in a reign that had felt nearly uninterrupted for more than a decade. But what followed was retooling. When the next season tipped off, there was a sharpened edge to James’ game and a subtle evolution in his leadership.

LeBron’s mindset

The Lakers reshaped the roster and brought in new pieces. One of those additions, veteran sharpshooter Danny Green, was positioned to witness firsthand how the team’s internal dynamic shaped James’ second year in purple and gold.

What he didn’t necessarily expect was how open James was to critique even from teammates.

“There’s so many, there’s not just one. He’ll take ownership when he does mess up,” Green said. “In a film session, he will say that’s my box-out, that’s my x-out, that guy there was a miss. And we will tell him, ‘Bron you need to do this, we need you to be more aggressive, we need you to pass more,’ he’ll listen. He’ll actually take that with a positive attitude and actually apply it to the game to help our team.”

The Lakers signed Green to a two-year, $30 million deal in July 2019, aiming to surround James and Anthony Davis with defensive versatility and championship experience.

Green had just come off a title run with the Toronto Raptors and his arrival was meant to bring steadiness. He was impressed with what he saw from one of the best players in the league.

For a player with four MVP awards, multiple Finals MVP awards and over a decade of dominance under his belt, accountability might seem assumed. But Green’s description highlighted something more precise, James was actively inviting criticisms and then converting them into on-court adjustments.

In a league where ego often goes unchallenged behind closed doors, James’ openness to being corrected, especially in a locker room filled with younger role players and recent additions, set a precedent.

And the result was clarity and cohesion. The 2019–20 Lakers had a defensive identity, a clear offensive structure and a leadership core that didn’t just issue directives but responded to feedback. The culture wasn’t built around fear of the superstar but collaborative precision.

Winning another championship

That season, interrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, was anything but ordinary. A four-month suspension of play threw the NBA into unfamiliar territory. The Lakers had built momentum before the shutdown and were forced to recalibrate inside the Disney World bubble in Orlando.

Green, who had already won titles with the San Antonio Spurs and Raptors, brought the kind of locker room stability that championship teams tend to need in uncertain situations.

He started 68 of the 68 games he played in the regular season, spacing the floor and guarding the opposing team’s toughest perimeter assignments. But it was during the film sessions, the in-between moments, that chemistry tightened.

With no crowd, no travel, and no distractions, every possession carried weight.

And according to Green, it wasn’t just coaches pointing out mistakes. Players spoke up even to James. The Lakers went on to dominate in the bubble, finishing off a Finals run with a 4–2 victory over the Miami Heat. James secured his fourth title and fourth Finals MVP.

He and Green joined John Salley and Robert Horry as the only players to win championships with three different franchises. It was a full-circle moment for Green, whose one-year stint in Los Angeles brought a unique glimpse into the mechanics of a champion.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.

“We will tell him, ‘Bron you need to do this'” – Danny Green says LeBron James set the tone for accountability inside the Lakers locker room

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