LeBron James insisted son Bronny “does not care” about critics as he takes part in his first Summer League with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 55 overall selection in the second round out of USC. On Saturday, the 19-year-old scored four points in the 108-94 defeat to the Sacramento Kings before he was ruled out of Sunday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors with a knee injury.
While the 19-year-old is under immense pressure to deliver given his last name and the history of his family, James insisted his eldest son is prepared to deliver in the NBA. James, who is with Team USA in Las Vegas ahead of the Olympics, believes Bronny is uniquely prepared to handle the scrutiny that already been hurled his way.
“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” James told ESPN after USA Basketball practice on Sunday. “He doesn’t care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in [as a rookie], I wanted people to like me, and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. … He doesn’t give a —-.
“He does not care about nobody. He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s like the coolest. He’s like the complete opposite of his dad. His dad will say something [to address the critics]. Bro does not care. … Everything that’s being said about him, he really does not care.”
Bronny’s basketball career was thrown into doubt ahead of his first college season when he suffered a cardiac arrest at a team practice last July. However, he was cleared to return to the court and, after missing the first eight games, made 25 appearances for the Trojans, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
James and Bronny could now become the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time, doing so while suiting up for the same team. The 39-year-old believes his son is unfazed by his his own success and is set to carve his own path after signing his rookie deal.
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Bronny James scored four points on his Summer League debut for the Los Angeles Lakers ( Image:
Getty Images)
“Just imagine if you were a kid, you were born into a situation where your dad was super famous, super wealthy and you the kid still had the drive to want to be able to accomplish things for yourself,” James added. “I personally don’t know if I would’ve been able to do that if the roles were reversed.
“When I was coming up, I had no choice. I literally had no choice… I had to make it out for me. My mom, my family, my hometown, my city. Bronny has all the choices in the world. If Bronny wants to stop right now or never played basketball or just wanted to be a gamer or wanted to be a chef or wanted to be nothing to whatever, he could have done that. … People don’t understand how hard that is and the commitment for him to be coming out of heart surgery less than a year ago, for him to be able to be in the NBA, the kid, he’s special.
“But he doesn’t care. He doesn’t. It doesn’t bother him.”
After a couple of misses to open his NBA career against the Kings, Bronny finally scored his first points with a second-quarter layup which settled his nerves. He confidently told reporters: “Moments like that can slow the game down for you especially because I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to beforehand… I couldn’t get the 3-ball to fall, but all the reps it’s going to come more smooth.”
He added: “Every first game that I step on the next level there’s always some butterflies in my stomach, but as soon as the ball tips and we go a couple times down it all goes away and I’m just playing basketball. It’s always going to be there but get through it.”
