Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James gave sound advice to his younger brother, the Arizona-bound Bryce James, who just won a state championship with Sierra Canyon.
“The main thing is having fun playing your game,” Bronny told reporters following his breakout game in the NBA. “Being confident in yourself. As I became a senior, and now he’s a senior, just have that mindset of working. A lot of kids out there want to be in my spot or his spot. We can’t take that for granted. Just keep working.”
Bronny is coming off his finest NBA game, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five assists, both career highs, while adding three rebounds and a block during the Lakers’ 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, March 20.
Rising Above Criticisms
Being the son of LeBron James, the all-time NBA leading scorer, comes with heightened scrutiny. Bronny faced nepotism criticisms after his selection as the 55th overall pick and a four-year guaranteed rookie contract with the Lakers.
After a poor start to his pro career, Bronny was the constant subject of ridicule on basketball shows. It came to a head during the Lakers’ 113-109 overtime win over the New York Knicks on March 6, when LeBron confronted ESPN’s “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith about his previous comments about him and his son.
But Bronny never talked back.
“‘My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down and come to work and be positive every day,’” Bronny said in an interview with The Athletic. “‘But sometimes it just fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a [expletive] robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.’”
JJ Redick Impressed With Bronny’s Great Character
Lakers coach JJ Redick was no longer surprised when Bronny had a breakout game against the Bucks with nearly half of their roster out.
But what impressed him the most was his calm demeanor amid the negative talks about him.
“I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is,” Redick told reporters. “And to deal with … frankly, [expletive] because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family. And the way LeBron and Savannah have raised him was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer. He was certainly going to be an NBA player, and I still believe that he’ll be an NBA player.”
Bronny credited Redick and the Lakers coaching staff, including South Bay, for believing in him, giving him confidence he can become an NBA player.
“Just all the coaches believing in me and continue to put that in my head that they believe in me and what I can do as a player,” Bronny told reporters. “I was given an opportunity tonight to go show them what I’ve been working on while I’ve been sitting on the bench, in the G League getting reps, stuff like that. Just constantly putting that in my head that they believe in me and that I can contribute.”
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