After seemingly dissing Lakers rookie Bronny James, Celtics star Jaylen Brown responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Bronny James being drafted at all would have drawn attention, considering the eldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James did not perform well at all in his lone college basketball season, but the fact that he was drafted by the Lakers, LeBron’s team, called into question whether the NBA’s oldest player forced the Lakers’ proverbial hand.
And amid a poor Summer League stretch, Bronny’s viability in the NBA is being questioned by many, including Jaylen Brown.
Brown, the reigning NBA Finals MVP and an NBA Champion as a member of the Boston Celtics, sat courtside with WNBA players Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese for a Summer League game between the Celtics and Lakers last night. In a strange coincidence, a cameraman caught Brown seemingly talking about Bronny during the game.
While there is no audio to confirm what was said, those who read lips said Brown cast doubt on whether Bronny is an NBA-level player in a conversation that went along these lines:
Brown: “I don’t think Bronny is a pro.”
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Gondrezick: “I think he’ll be on the G-league team for sure.”
Brown: “I don’t think so. I think because of his name, he’ll be on the Lakers.”
Today, after NBA Twitter discussed Brown’s alleged comments, the NBA Finals MVP responded and seemingly confirmed that the lip-reading was accurate.
“It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba,” Brown wrote in a tweet. “it reflects greatness and longevity !Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth.”
Is Jaylen Brown right about Bronny James?
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Whether you agree with Jaylen Brown or not about Bronny James’ place in the NBA, it’s clear Bronny is struggling in the Summer League so far.
At 6 feet, 1.5 inches tall, Bronny’s size will make it challenging for him on both ends of the floor in the NBA, but if he can develop some kind of niche, whether it be on-ball defending or a reliable 3-point shooter, he should be able to stick around for a while.
Unfortunately, Bronny’s shot has been off in Summer League so far. Through four games — two in the California Classic and two in Las Vegas — Bronny is shooting 23 percent from the field (7-of-31) and has missed each of his 15 three-point attempts. In total, he is averaging 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in Summer League.
The potential good news for Bronny, LeBron, and the Lakers is that Summer League performance, whether good, bad, or somewhere in between, is not always an indicator of NBA performance. There have been plenty of players to play like superstars in Summer League only to fall flat once they join their NBA team.
Bronny’s strengths will assuredly be his defense and his playmaking ability, and it’s likely the Lakers will dedicate quite a bit of time to help Bronny develop a consistent shot, which could make him much more playable against NBA-level talent. Bronny will get another chance to break out of his slump against the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow night.
