While Bronny James has received unfair criticism to kick off his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, there is no denying that the former USC Trojan could use time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.
That is the case for most second-round draft picks, but there is an unusual amount of pressure and attention on Brony with him being the son of one of the greatest players ever in LeBron James. However, the 20-year-old is doing a good job of blocking out these unfair criticisms.
Bronny’s development is going to take time, maybe a even a few years, but he made his G League debut on Saturday. Despite James struggling offensively, teammate Quincy Olivari is happy that he can prove to the world that he can play professional basketball.
“I was just happy to see him get out there and show the world that he can play,” Olivari said. I think I’m a big advocate on pushing that he’s a great basketball player, and that the criticism he gets is unfair. But to see him go out there and have fun, along with Max Lewis to go out there and show that he can also hoop too, it was just great to see. Glad we got the win.”
It did not take long for Bronny to get his first bucket as he hit a pull-up mid-range jump shot on the first possession of the game. Olivari found him on that play and discussed the chemistry they have already built together.
“That’s one of my guys,” he said. “Obviously I was here early right after Summer League and just got some chemistry with the team before training camp. But me and Bronny, he was actually one of the first people I met when I got out here, we used to shoot together after practice and workout together. So just always making sure that I can find open guys and tonight, every time we were in transition, Bronny would be ahead of me whether it was a kick-up 3 or an attack to the basket. So just making sure I can find him some good easy looks because he’s a beast in transition.”
A notable characteristic that Olivari noticed is Bronny looks to make the right play, similar to LeBron. That is something that the two-way guard appreciates about the rookie.
“It tells me the same thing about him as a player as it does as a person,” Olivari said. “Bronny is an amazing kid and I just love being around him. Fun fact – he loves cars. He’s always out of the way, looking at cars and always looking at video games. So just a normal kid and then when he gets out here, he’s always looking to make the right play whether he’s missing a shot, making a shot or making a turnover or throwing a lob. He’s always looking to make the right play and you can’t ever be mad at a kid trying to make the right play.”
There is going to be a microscope on Bronny despite him spending time in the G League South Bay. With that, it is great to see his teammates providing that necessary support as he navigates through life in the NBA.
Bronny James embracing buzz he brings to G League
There are not many young adults that get the amount of media attention Bronny James is getting and it could be overwhelming for most. However, James is embracing the buzz he brings to the G League.
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