Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James did not hold back against his heckler in Denver.
“Your chain [is] fake,” Bronny was caught telling his heckler on a video circulating on social media telling his heckler.
Bronny scored five points but only shot 1 of 5 while grabbing two offensive rebounds and getting one steal without a turnover in 16 minutes off the bench for the shorthanded Lakers, who nearly pulled the rug from under the Denver Nuggets in a heartbreaking 131-126 loss on March 14, that capped a winless four-game road trip.
He was plus-8 for the Lakers against the Nuggets.
The Lakers bounced back at home on Sunday, March 16, with a 107-96 win over the Phoenix Suns after welcoming back Luka Dončić, Jaxson Hayes and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Bronny had his fair share of critics and hecklers after he was selected 55th overall by the Lakers — a move that was met with criticisms.
It came to a head on 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.
Stephen A. Smith on LeBron Confrontation
The veteran ESPN reporter, who just signed a five-year, $100 million contract to stay with the cable network, addressed the issue on the March 7 episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
“He approached me during the game, and he said, ‘stop [expletive] with my son (Bronny),’” Smith said. “I said, ‘what?’ … And I saw how furious he was. I said ‘we can talk about it later.’ He said ‘nah, [expletive] that, stop [expletive] with my son, that’s my son.’ I said ‘alright dawg, fine’ and he walked away, that’s all he said. I knew what he was talking about. I’ve spoken about this before…A few players were upset at me about that. I think one of those players was Draymond Green, who I haven’t spoken to since.”
The public spat stemmed from comments Smith had previously said about LeBron and Bronny.
“I’m really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be toward LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball,” Smith said on January 29 episode of the “First Take.” “I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season … father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely, positively wonderful story.
“And then reality sets in. We love what we’re seeing from (Bronny) in the G League, because that’s where you belong, as you hone your skills and you get better and you legitimately earn, which I believe he has the potential to do. I am rooting for Bronny James … he’s a wonderful kid, I wish him nothing but the best.”
Bronny Doesn’t Want Attention
Bronny has yet to address the issue. But after his first game in Denver since the LeBron-Stephen A. Smith confrontation, Bronny told reporters that he wants to be as “lowkey” as he can.
“…whether that’s media, I mean everything really, living life but just putting in the work behind the scenes, I feel like it’s been really good for me,” Bronny told reporters after the loss.
Bronny has shown some improvement that raises hope he can be a rotation player in the NBA someday. Over his last six NBA games, he averaged 4.3 points in 7.9 minutes while shooting 40% from the field with 0.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.5 steals.
He credited his assignment on South Bay Lakers in the G League for his growing confidence.
“I’m always trying to stay ready,” Bronny told reporters. “We have stay-ready games and practice and stuff like that so I’m always ready to go at it and give my full effort.”
In nine games in the G League regular season, Bronny is averaging 20.6 points on 43/36/80 shooting split to go with 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.6 minutes.
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