The past year-and-a-half would have been remarkable for Bronny James, even if he weren’t the son of an NBA legend. A high-profile recruit at USC, he suffered cardiac arrest during a Trojans practice during the summer of 2023 and underwent a medical procedure to fix a congenital heart defect. That was followed by the Lakers‘ controversial decision to take him with a second-round pick so he could make history by teaming up with his father. After making a few appearances at the NBA level, James has been honing his skills with South Bay and is playing this week at the G League Showcase in Orlando.
“I’ve become resilient over these past couple of years fighting through injuries, mental illness, stuff like that,” James told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “Just, you know, coming in and working every day and staying the course.”
The level of scrutiny has been intense for a 20-year-old rookie, but James said the public perception “flies in one ear and out the other.” He has the security of a four-year, $7.9MM contract, and he’s working to improve his game to ensure that he has a long NBA future. He also doesn’t lose sight of the fact that he’s fortunate to still be playing after his medical emergency.
“My family, my parents, they are extremely thankful that I’m not only able to play basketball but also just walk around and speak to other people,” James said. “It’s a blessing to be able to play this sport that I love. There’s a chance I wasn’t going to be able to. So I wake up and I’m thankful for that every day.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- James is the most famous name in the G League Showcase, but anyone expecting him to dominate has come away disappointed, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. He had 16 points and five assists on Thursday, but followed that today with six points, seven assists and six turnovers. Carelessness with the ball has been an issue since James was sent down to the G League, Hollinger adds, and he’s shooting just 24-of-76 from the field with South Bay.
- Better teamwork is being credited for the Lakers’ improvements on defense, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The team’s three best statistical defensive outings have come in the past two weeks, and Anthony Davis said it’s because players are committed to working together as a unit. “We’re just covering for each other,” he said. “We [weren’t] having a lot of that. A guy gets beat, it wasn’t a guy there to protect him. We’ve got some practice time to kind of take care of that. And it’s shown and translated onto the court.”
- Davis, who is dealing with a contusion on his left elbow, and LeBron James, who is still managing an injured left foot, were both upgraded to available for today’s game against Sacramento, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
I blame the media for the hate Bronny is getting because they are pushing him onto fans and making the expectations way too high. He is not even close to being NBA ready. He will never be as good as his dad. Let him play in the G league and learn to play team ball. No need to report what he did.
Have you actually watched him play in the GLeague? Why do you hate him so much? You guys have such a weird reaction to him. It is truly bizarre.
Arc let it go with the Bronny thing. We know he’s never going to be better than his father. He’ll be in the league long enough to either become a coach or a front office executive in some capacity due to his dad.
There’s not that many players in the history of the game have been as good as Bronny’s dad.
“He will never be as good as his dad”
Way to go out on a limb.
Also, who cares?
Good performance today from LBJ. Only needs 2 more 30 point games to equal MJ’s. Not sure LeBron can get the other 96 40 point games to equal MJ though lol. Yes, 96 more 40 point games. Doubt he’s getting another 16 50 pieces too. The Bron fans do rate that longevity highly though in this ridiculous GOAT debate dont they…..possibly think harder or do a little more homework before anointing longevity as an important criteria lol. Mic drop, go lake show.
Do you think you ATE with that long-winded drivel of a take about the KING.
Replace drivel with facts and yes. 96 more 40 point games, my God. Got the 50 piece wrong though. Needs 17 more not 16, my bad. Can’t believe I stuffed that up lol.