ORLANDO — Los Angeles is more to Nick Young than his hometown. It is a fundamental part of the Warriors guard’s identity, a city where the sunny weather and celebrity-obsessed culture helped shape how he carries himself.

“I think L.A. just has a lot of style,” said Young, who is so stylish he calls himself the “Savior of Swag.” “I didn’t know the Bay was that cold. It’s totally different.”

Since signing a one-year, $5.2 million deal with Golden State in July, Young, 32, has adjusted to far more than cooler temperatures. The self-described gunner had to learn how not to take shots away from three of the league’s best scorers. Long accustomed to rebuilding situations, Young had to figure out how to fit into the locker room of a defending NBA champion.

Now, after an uneven first couple of months, Young is starting to feel at ease with the Warriors. In Wednesday’s 127-123 overtime win over the Lakers, Young came off the bench to score nine points in 14 minutes on 3-for-5 shooting. His textbook screens, off-ball movement and newfound affinity for the extra pass are parts of his game that were notoriously absent in his almost half-decade with the Lakers.

What hasn’t changed: Long one of the NBA’s most loquacious players, Young still relishes trash talk. After checking in midway through the first quarter Wednesday to a smattering of boos, he seized any opportunity to jaw with his former teammates.

And they hardly backed down. Early in the fourth quarter, while Young lay behind Golden State’s basket after chasing an errant pass over the first row of fans, Lakers point guard Jordan Clarkson barked: “Get your old ass up!”

“It was fun playing against those guys,” Young said. “It felt good getting out there. I’m glad we got the victory, so I can still talk trash.”

Young, who grew up in the L.A. neighborhood of Reseda, played at nearby Cleveland High School and starred for three years at USC, rented out a Staples Center suite Wednesday to accommodate more than 20 family members and friends. Those closest to him were eager to see him finally play for a winner.

Of the 672 NBA games he has logged, 15 have come in the playoffs. His career winning percentage is just shy of 33 percent.

Four months ago, after a convincing pitch from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and forwards Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, Young took a pay cut to sign a one-year, $5.2 million deal with Golden State. While many front offices saw a player more famous for his alter ego than his performance, the Warriors saw an elite shooter who could benefit from a winning culture.

It brought a bigger learning curve than Young anticipated. After arriving at training camp noticeably heavy, he was slow to grasp the backdoor cuts foundational to Golden State’s offense. It didn’t help when he bruised his right hip in an exhibition in Shenzhen, China, and missed basketball activities for the rest of that weeklong trip.

After needing only nine shots to pour in 23 points in the Warriors’ season-opening loss to Houston, Young struggled to show he could do more than score and was passed on the depth chart by second-year swingman Patrick McCaw. Unlike earlier in his career, when he responded to sporadic minutes by venting to the media and fuming in the locker room, Young met daily with Kerr, reviewed video in his free time and dropped necessary weight.

“When he was younger, he didn’t think he needed the weight room,” said Warriors point guard Shaun Livingston, who spent part of the 2009-10 season with Young in Washington. “He was just a shooter, that was it. Now, he’s in there all the time.”

Added Kerr: “He’s done a great job figuring out our offense in terms of being a screener, moving on the weak side. He’s getting better. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I can see the improvement.”

These days, Young is a staple of Kerr’s rotation. He is shooting 44.1 percent from the field, including 39 percent from three-point range, while playing some of the most solid defense of his career.

In acclimating to a new team and chillier climate, Young has held close to his Hollywood roots. He wears gold chains and custom streetwear. Asked recently what it would take to sign one of the slew of reality-TV contracts he has been offered, Young smiled and asserted: “Kardashian money.”

“L.A. is L.A,” Young said after shootaround Wednesday at Staples Center. “Winning or losing, it’s a great place to be.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron

Friday’s game

Who: Warriors (16-6)

vs. Magic (9-13)

Where: Orlando

When: 4 p.m.

TV/Radio: NBCSBA/95.7