Bronny James might’ve been the most talked about second-round pick in NBA history this past season as outside critics and pundits jumped at the chance to tear the rookie down.
The Los Angeles Lakers took Bronny knowing fully well that there would be noise from people outside the building because the prevailing thought was he was drafted solely because LeBron James is his dad. It was unnecessary and unwarranted vitriol for someone like Bronny to endure given he hadn’t done anything other than be himself.
Head coach JJ Redick made sure to defend James at every turn, and the rookie rewarded the organization with continual growth and development over the course of the 2024-25 season.
Prior to the team’s regular season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers, Redick had high praise for Bronny when grading his rookie season via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
“I give him an A+. How he has personally handled a lot of attention, good and bad, he doesn’t ever break character. He’s the same guy every day and he doesn’t allow the good attention to get to him. He doesn’t allow the bad attention to get to him and he just continues to work.
“I thought Zach (Guthrie) and his staff did a phenomenal job with him when he was down with the South Bay Lakers. He’s improved and we saw this particularly, I went to some early games and seeing his confidence grow from October, November, to really that second part of the G League season, post Showcase, was phenomenal. And I think every time he’s been on the court for us in the second half of the season, you can see that level of confidence and level of comfort. And I mean, he’s a guy you can tell things to and they don’t let it affect their work or their attitude. I told him, like, I’m very high on him longterm being a part of our rotation.”
Bronny made his first career start against Portland and while the counting stats don’t stick out it’s clear that he looks much more confident and comfortable on the floor compared to the early part of the season. While Bronny won’t have a role on the Lakers during the playoffs, it looks like he’s got a bright future in the league.
Bronny James focused and locked in despite outside criticism
LeBron James has every reason to be proud of Bronny James for how he’s handled himself this past year. LeBron noted that Bronny has been focused and locked in despite the outside noise and that mentality bodes well for his development moving forward.
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