Lakers news: Danny Green says Dwight Howard has 'championship DNA'

Danny Green gave his Los Angeles Lakers teammate the ultimate compliment, basically claiming that Dwight Howard has championship traits.

Dwight Howard may be the X-factor to the Los Angeles Lakers winning a championship in 2020.

As crazy as it may sound considering he's not even in the top three of the Lakers' pecking order, the 34-year-old veteran as fit in seamlessly in his second tour with the Lakers. After a disastrous one-season stint with Los Angeles during the 2012-13 season, Howard has been nothing but a valuable contributor as an older veteran for the best team in the Western Conference.

Danny Green — who knows a thing or two about winning titles considering he's done it with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors — said that Howard has “championship DNA.”

Via Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy:

“He’s obviously got that championship DNA in him,” Lakers guard, Danny Green told Robison.

“He’s learning how to win, be more professional, he was already professional but he’s learning more and maturing more off the court as a father, he’s become an even better leader on and off the court.”

The 16th-year big man has averaged 6.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game on a ridiculous 74.3 percent from the field. The veteran big man has yet to start a single game this season — he's averaging just 20.0 minutes per game — but he's been efficient in his limited minutes. The 6-foot-11 big is averaging 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on a per-36 minute average — not far off from his career average of 13.2 rebounds per game and actually better than the 2.1 blocks per game he's averaged.

While Howard may not be the highlight machine he was earlier in his career with the Orlando Magic, his maturation as a professional may lead to his first NBA title this season.