Lakers’ Shannon Brown sweated the small stuff and it has paid off big-time

His mind played tricks on him during his first four years in the NBA, and it left Shannon Brown’s psyche a bit fragile when he contemplated his place in the league.

The 6-foot-4 guard had been on four teams in four seasons, and he wondered why he couldn’t stick with one team and why he was progressing so slowly, even with the Lakers.

Those doubts that lurked for so long, however, are gone. They have been replaced by a sense of confidence, Brown said, because of all the hard work he put in last summer to mold himself into a better player.

“I’ve always thought I could shoot [well] even when I couldn’t,” Brown said. “Now it’s going in a little bit more [often].”

Indeed, Brown’s game has taken off this season. His 11.1 points-per-game-average is a career-best — and is fourth-best on the Lakers. Brown is also at career-high levels in field-goal percentage (52.3%), three-point accuracy (51.1%), free-throw shooting (94.7%) and steals (0.9).

It wasn’t so long ago that Brown wasn’t sure he’d find success in the NBA. He had bounced around from Cleveland to Chicago to Charlotte and to the Lakers.

“It was more of a question of, ‘Why is it taking so long [to succeed] and how can I speed this process up?’ ” Brown said. “Having such high expectations for myself, that’s what was more hurtful.”

Brown left Michigan State after his junior year and was selected by Cleveland as the 25th pick in the 2006 NBA draft.

He had a vision of “becoming The Man” on his team, he said. But despite flashes of athleticism and some spectacular dunks, Brown was a bench player — and he kept changing teams.

“It has been a journey,” Brown said. “It’s been a lot ups and a lot of downs. It was very humbling because I was having problems balancing what was going on with my life off the court with what was going on in my life on the court. . . .

“I had to correct it. Ever since then, it’s been kind of more easy for me to transition into becoming a better player.”

A first step, he said, was to ignore what outsiders thought about his lack of success in the league. He also knew he had to improve his skills.

The Lakers acquired Brown from Charlotte, with Adam Morrison, in a trade for Vladimir Radmanovic in February 2009. At the time, the team thought it was getting a “throwaway” player in Brown because he had “bounced around” the NBA, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson recalled.

But the Lakers discovered Brown was a high-flying athlete and the team was impressed by his work ethic. Jackson also said he liked Brown’s low-key “demeanor and “personality.”

After the Lakers won a second consecutive championship last June, Jackson sat down with Brown during “exit interviews” and discussed ways he could improve his game.

“I talked to him about his offense and how he made big strides last year,” Jackson said. “I said, ‘You are such an exceptional talent athletically and you have to use that. You’ve got the gift. Now you’ve got to exploit it.’ I also talked a lot about defense.”

Jackson wanted Brown to be more versatile so he could defend bigger and smaller guards. “I told him this is where you can become a real force for us, because you are so quick,” Jackson said.

Then he paused and smiled.

“But there’s always that limitation of what you can talk about because a guy is a free agent,” Jackson said, laughing.

Brown became a free agent July 1.

He eventually signed a two-year, $4.6-million deal to stay with the Lakers, although he can opt out of the contract after this season.

Last summer, Brown began intense workouts at his high school and elementary school in his hometown of Maywood, Ill., just outside Chicago, along with his personal trainer.

Brown worked on basic skills, including dribbling, and he took the types of shots he would get in the Lakers’ triangle offense.

There was no air conditioning in the gym, and during those three- to four-hour sessions the temperature often exceeded 100 degrees.

“They’ve got two fans in my high school gym and they both blow hot air,” Brown said. “It was great for me, though. We would go until my legs would start aching and I couldn’t walk and I had to lie down for a few seconds and cool off.”

After 14 games this season, Brown doesn’t appear close to cooling off. He was once known as a dunker, but now his game has matured.

It’s early, but his name has been tossed around as a possible candidate for the NBA’s sixth-man-of-the-year award.

“Man, I’m not even the sixth man [on the Lakers],” Brown said, smiling. “I’m the sixth, seventh or eighth man. But my thing is helping this team win a third straight championship.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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