Kwame Brown Takes Credit For Success Of Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum has had an absolutely dominant start for the Lakers this season, averaging 19.6 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in his first five contests since returning from suspension. And the one guy taking credit for his emergence hasn't been the guy you'd expect.

It's not his coach, Mike Brown, and it's not his captain, Kobe Bryant. No -- it's Kwame Brown, the guy who's backing up Andris Biedrins in Golden State.

"That was my young fella," Brown bragged to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times. "I taught him everything he knows. I'm one of the better defenders in the league, and we played against each other every day in practice. I told him if you can score against me, you can score on anyone."

Bynum was a Laker lottery pick in 2005; Brown was a four-year veteran at that point, already well on his way to one of the great draft-bust stories in NBA history. The former No. 1 pick played with Bynum for two and a half seasons before being shipped to Memphis in the infamous Pau Gasol trade.