To say that Bronny James had a slow start after getting picked 55th overall in the NBA Draft is an understatement. His first games in the NBA Summer League and California Classic showed that the Los Angeles Lakers rookie needed more time to develop under JJ Redick such that his three-pointers could start falling. However, a switch turned inside him as he gave a fairly serviceable performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even one of LeBron James' biggest critics, Skip Bayless, took notice.
Skip Bayless praises the Lakers' rookie
Bronny James has received a lot of vitriol after being selected by the Lakers in the NBA Draft. All sorts of negative comments hit social media and even traditional media. Those got reinforced when the NBA Summer League started. While Bronny made some great defensive plays, his impact was just not translating well into the stat sheet. Moreover, he also could not buy a bucket at the time. Now, he and Dalton Knecht have led the Lakers to their second victory of the tournament. It came at the expense of the Cavaliers and Skip Bayless immediately had to backtrack on some of the statements he launched in the past few weeks.
“Another nice game by Bronny. Did his part in the late 9-0 Laker run that won 'em a second straight game. He is fully capable of playing 10-15 minutes alongside his dad next season,” the renowned analyst declared.
It was not just Bayless who made big statements about the Lakers rookie. Jaylen Brown of the championship-winning Boston Celtics was caught mouthing some negative statements about Bronny. When he received some backlash for it and Bronny started delivering, he also did a double-take.
“It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the NBA it reflects greatness and longevity! Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth,” he said about LeBron James' son.
How did Bronny James perform vs. the Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League?
Well, he just rode the momentum that he had in the previous game and started making buckets. He was given 25 minutes of playing time as a starter and managed to do well in every second of it. By the end of the game, he managed to knock down five out of his ten field goal attempts for 13 points. He also went a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line and sank one out of his three attempts from far out. His dime-dropping chops were also on display as the Lakers rookie was able to record three assists.
On defense, he was as active as ever for the Lakers. Bronny had two blocks and also grabbed five rebounds to round out a decent performance.
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