‘Tell LeBron James and Anthony Davis to play more defense’: When Gregg Popovich took a jibe at the Lakers duo via Danny Green

Gregg Popovich messaged Danny Green to let LeBron James and Anthony Davis know that they need to play more defense.

Danny Green’s arrival in Los Angeles Lakers last offseason was deemed as a big win for the Lakers. The Lakers missed out on a lot of marquee free agents in the 2019 offseason, in hopes of Kawhi Leonard joining them.

With this not panning out, the Lakers had to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with players that weren’t all that sought after. Danny Green was one of these players. It was actually quite surprising no one has picked him up yet.

However, Green wasn’t the 2014 version of himself, the Lakers perhaps hoped for. He was a still a decent shooter from beyond the arc, and demanded respect from the defense on the perimeter.

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Nevertheless, the Lakers still managed to breeze through the Playoffs, boasting a 16-5 record, en route to the 2020 championship.

Gregg Popovich’s hilarious text message to Danny Green upon winning the 2020 title.

Coach Pop and Danny Green are very well acquainted with one another. Green was an integral part of the Spurs offense in their 2014 championship victory. He stayed with the team until he was traded to the Raptors in 2019.

So when Danny Green claimed his 3^rd championship, this time with the Lakers, Pop knew he had to throw in a little jab at the champions.

He apparently texted Danny and said, “Tell LeBron and AD to play some more defense.”

Gregg Popovich included a friendly jab at Anthony Davis and LeBron James when he congratulated Danny Green.https://t.co/f4WOQ5dCaJ pic.twitter.com/mNATsOGnTa

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) December 21, 2020

This is obviously some light-hearted banter between the two. Everyone knows that Coach Pop loves to poke fun at opposing teams and players.

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The sarcastic remark gets even funnier when you think about the fact that Anthony Davis was one of the top defensive players in the NBA last season. Many believe he should’ve won DPOY over Giannis.

There was of course, no malicious intent behind these comments. Pop and LeBron actually have a very solid relationship. They have talked about each other in the highest of regards on several occasions.