Seven-year veteran guard Shake Milton did not hold it against Bronny James when the 20-year-old rookie jumped ahead of him in the Los Angeles Lakers rotation in their 118-104 loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 28, against the shorthanded 76ers.
Because he was once there in Bronny’s tough spot. Bronny is in a much tougher spot with the spotlight on him as the son of LeBron James, one of the greatest of all time and the franchise star of their team, and Milton feels for the kid.
So when Bronny made his lone basket — a three-point play — in their 134-96 blowout win against the Washington Wizards on Thursday, Jan. 30, Milton jumped in joy and pumped his fist in celebration.
“When I was a two-way [player] back then, my vets were telling me to do the same thing,” Milton, the 54th overall pick in 2018, told reporters after the Lakers win. “When you get an opportunity, they’re trying to tell you to be aggressive so you know he’s down there, whenever he’s in the G [League], he’s showing out and doing his thing. So, yeah man, you get up here, you get the opportunity, you got to be aggressive.
“I told him that in the last game in Philly. When he went in, he had a shot at the end of the shot clock and I think he drove and passed it up or something like that. I just want him to be aggressive, man. You get your opportunity, you go make it happen.”
Consummate Pro
A salary filler in the Dorian Finney-Smith trade, Milton is not part of the Lakers rotation. But Gabe Vincent‘s knee injury opened up rotation minutes at the backup guard spot, which Lakers coach JJ Redick gave to Bronny after his 31-point career game in the G League.
Unfortunately, Bronny was not ready for the moment.
While Milton had the right to sulk as a veteran who got jumped over by a rookie, he did not and was a consummate pro. Instead of sulking, he rooted for Bronny and advised him to seize the opportunity.
Bronny fared much better in his second game since he was recalled from the G League. He finished with a career-high five points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. He played more composed playing alongside Milton as he did not commit a turnover while he played the entire fourth quarter.
It was a stark contrast to his zero-point, three-turnover outing in 15 minutes against the 76ers while getting cooked by Tyrese Maxey as the first guard off the bench. Milton only played the final six minutes of that loss.
Shake Milton Finally Gets His Fair Shake
Redick corrected his mistake and gave the backup guard spot to Milton against the Wizards.
The veteran guard responded with a season-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
“I think a lot of it is just mental, it’s the mental game,” Milton said of the sporadic playing time while getting traded midseason. “When that comes into play, it’s when you’re just thrust into a different situation, a different environment and you kind of have to move and run on the fly. Just taking that time to mentally prepare regardless of what the result you’re seeing and staying locked in and staying in that mind frame, I think that helps a lot.”
The whole Lakers bench did not only cheer for Bronny but also for Milton every time he made a good play.
“It just shows you guys being unselfish and wanting to see other guys succeed,” Milton said of his Lakers teammates. “That camaraderie, that togetherness is important especially the type of run that we’re trying to make.
“So yeah, it was big to know guys are going to cheer for each other, guys are unselfish and as long as we’re moving in one direction as a unit, we’ll be alright.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Vet Reveals What He Told Bronny James After Getting Jumped In Rotation appeared first on Heavy Sports.