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Welcome to OTG's Justice League Pass - a special one-stop-shop for all of your NBA X DC Comics crossover needs! For our sister series - dubbed Marvelous Ballers - check out the rest of our site, and give me (@KarinAbcarians) a follow on Twitter.
The NBA has players who show us some of the best athleticism we’ll ever see; put simply, they’re basketball superheroes. Although the season is well-underway (we're 20 games in folks), some of us fans are still getting used to seeing players on different teams. It’s undoubtedly a different looking NBA, and there’s an excitement in the air that seems destined to stretch into the holiday season, where we will be treated to some spectacular Christmas Day games.
Which DC Comics characters would you most want to see compared to NBA players? Let us know on Twitter, or send me a DM!
Today, we'll take a look at the Los Angeles Lakers' Danny Green and DC Comics character Floyd Lawton - A.K.A: Deadshot.
Both Deadshot and Danny Green are marksmen; that's perfectly clear. The offseason discussion surrounding the Lakers consisted of questions about whether the team would finally get some 3-point shooters, and it seems they’ve struck gold with Danny Green, who's hitting 41% of his threes on 4.7 attempts per game.
There aren’t many players in the league who can shoot at any given moment., from anywhere on the court, and expect it to fall nine times out of 10. When Green shoots, there’s a very solid chance the ball is destined for the sweet spot. Much like Deadshot, you can count on him to hit the target.
Deadshot has an interesting history. He had a brother, Eddie, who he accidentally killed when he meant to kill their abusive father. That fuels his need to never miss a shot.
He is sometimes looked at as an anti-hero. If you’ve watched the CW show, "Arrow", you’ll remember that there was an episode focused on him and his family; the context provided by the episode turned him into someone we could root for. In the movie Suicide Squad, he’s a family man. Although obviously a deadly assassin-turned-squad-leader, he still gets screen time with his daughter, and we transparently see a man who just wants to be with his family.
Danny Green does not possess a character history quite as complex as Deadshot. But he does have something that also fuels him to never miss: championships. Danny was part of the 2014 San Antonio Spurs championship squad and most recently the 2019 Toronto Raptors NBA championship-winning team.
Now with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, he has another team around him poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. He’s been doing a little bit of everything; splashing 3-point shots, layups, floaters, being a defensive pest, and doing all those things that don’t show up in the stat sheet.
We also can’t forget this wild dunk that caught absolutely everyone off-guard (and even made the league drug test him).
Can the Lakers win the championship this year? If Danny Green builds on his form throughout the season, he’ll continue to be the Deadshot-esque assassin everyone fears, and will do his very best to get the Lakers back to the mountain top.