Bronny James, Los Angeles Lakers

Bronny James (Photo by Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, was one of the most hyped players in the 2024 NBA Draft. However, NBA fans were left speechless when he was not selected in the first round. Ultimately, the Los Angeles Lakers selected the 19-year-old player as the 55th pick in the second round. After LeBron James re-signed the contract with the Lakers, this will make the first father-son duo playing at the same time for a team in NBA history.

Despite the excellent hype, Bronny didn’t have an impressive start to his professional career as the Lakers lost 5 straight games in the NBA summer league. Moreover, Bronny was constantly criticized by fans, players, and analysts for his poor performance. However, the team slightly regained as Bronny and the Lakers won 2 straight games after losing 5. During the intense 87-86 win against the Atlanta Hawks, Bronny scored 12 points, along with 1 steal and 1 rebound. In the second 93-89 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 19-year-old shooting guard finished with 13 points, 2 blocks, three assists, and 5 rebounds.

Bronny has achieved something remarkable in just seven games during his professional career. According to the latest stats report by StatMamba, a social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter), the former USC Trojans player has the third-highest number of steals and blocks among rookie guards throughout the summer league.

Kevin Hart Defends Bronny James Amid Recent Criticism

After being selected by the Lakers, Bronny faced criticism from fans, players, and analysts who accused him of benefiting from nepotism due to his father, LeBron James. However, some people also supported the 19-year-old guard. In a recent interview with Taylor Rooks, Kevin Hart discussed the backlash Bronny received after the draft.

Everybody loves the story of the good guy, but everybody really wants the story of the bad guy. There’s a lot of good things that are being said about Bronny [James] right now as well, but you can’t hear it over the volume that people are adding to the bad things. Kevin Hart said.