On July 26, Beijing time, it was reported that in the 2024 NBA draft, the Lakers won James' eldest son Bronny with the 55th pick in the second round, and also fulfilled his father James's wish, but Bronny's performance in the summer league was not convincing. According to Hoopswire Register Sam Amico, a Lakers player who played in the NBA Summer League blasted Bronny in an interview.
Commenting on Bronny, the Lakers player said, "You can feel that there's not a lot of unity between us because Bronny is the main character and the rest of the body thinks it's not right and he doesn't deserve that position. ”
"I mean, he's treated like a special person, unlike all of us, which is very annoying. Because we don't feel any chemistry in our group of players. I was so frustrated because they wanted Bronny to show what he was capable of and shine, so I was never put in the best position or even put into some game or game plan. ”
"If you talk to any of the players on the California Classic or Summer League roster, most of them will tell you the same thing. The tension was palpable, and we almost all wanted to get out of here after summer league and focus on the next step in our careers. ”
In this year's summer league, Bronny played in 6 games, averaging 25.2 minutes per game, scoring 7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal and 0.8 blocks, shooting 32.7% from the field and 13% from three-point range.
For the second-round draft, the playing time and ball possession he got were beyond the outside world's understanding of the second-round draft. Obviously, Bronny James has been given some privileges that allow him to play as he wants when he plays, after all, with his poor performance in the first few games of the Summer League, he would have been banned for a regular draft player.
Lakers management also knows that it is precisely because Bronny was selected by the Lakers that the topic has increased and the popularity has been directly filled. The Lakers management also knows that it is impossible to expect Bronny to bring much help to the team at the competitive level, what they need is heat and increase box office appeal. "Father and son join forces" is also a unique thing in the entire history of the NBA.
However, from an outsider's point of view, it is really unacceptable, not long ago, former NBA player Hunter "bombarded" the first person in the NBA James on social media, thinking that his son was not worthy of entering the NBA at all, and that he signed a 4-year guaranteed contract with the team before the summer league, which was completely unqualified, and the people behind the scenes were James and Rich Paul abusing their rights. This kind of behavior is very unfair, and it feels unfair to those players who work hard to train and make it to the NBA, and even Jordan has said that he will never give his son a sense of power. Jordan also did what he said.
"Accompanying the prince to study" may be the tone of the Lakers' next season or better sounded "sophistication", but this is understandable, because after all, the commercial gimmick of "father and son on the same stage" will bring huge benefits to the team.
I don't know how long Brownie can withstand the huge pressure, and it is not up to him to have such a supergiant father, the only thing he can do now is to make a name for himself and use his strength to block the mouths of thousands of people who question him!
Fans, do you think Bronny can make a name for himself?