Bronny James’ rookie season was a rollercoaster given the expectations and criticisms that come with playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny received far more attention than the normal No. 55 pick in the NBA Draft normally receives because of LeBron James, but the young guard was great at blocking the outside noise and focusing on his development.
It wasn’t always pretty for James last season as he struggled in his first few NBA appearances before finding a groove in the G League. Bronny was able to carry that momentum into Summer League, where he looked far more confident and made several highlight reel-worthy plays.
Gabe Vincent has taken James under his wing and noted how the latter’s health scare’s given him more motivation to succeed, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Having the game taken away from you at a younger age in the way he did, whether it be injury or whatever it was, I think it gave him a different appreciation,” Vincent told ESPN.
“I think it forces you to have a different kind of fight. It puts a chip on your shoulder. Everyone needs a chip, but it gives you a different kind of belief in yourself as you’re battling back. You kind of have to climb uphill. And so that builds a lot of resolve.”
Vincent understands that Bronny could end up replacing him in the rotation, but still is rooting for him:
“We might be competing for minutes down the line, but as a teammate, as a human, as a person, I want nothing but the best for him,” Vincent said. “And it only makes the Lakers better if we’re having competitions for depth chart spots.”
Vincent also revealed that he offered Bronny encouragement after a game against the New Orleans Pelicans and is looking forward to seeing him grow even more:
“After the game against the Pels, I just sent him a text the following day: ‘Hey, I don’t know what you’re being told in the background, but I liked what I saw,”‘ Vincent texted. “‘You were aggressive … You were on the main guy.’ …
“It’s hard, I think, sometimes in Laker Land and sometimes as a young player with expectations on him, to have a big-picture mindset and to look at the overall thing,” Vincent said. “But for me, we’ve seen the growth in him from Year 1 to now, so it’s important to just continue to rise.”
Vincent has seen first-hand how much JAmes’ grown and developed as a player and person and it’ll be exciting to see how far he can go at the professional level.
Stephen Curry saw potential in Bronny James from young age
Gabe Vincent isn’t the only that believes in Bronny James as Stephen Curry also noted that he saw potential in him from a young age.
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