{"id":87678,"date":"2024-07-28T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=87678"},"modified":"2024-07-28T01:33:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T05:33:17","slug":"lakers-rookie-dispels-latest-criticism-of-bronny-james","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/28\/lakers-rookie-dispels-latest-criticism-of-bronny-james\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Rookie Dispels Latest Criticism of Bronny James"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even before he\u2019s logged a second of real NBA action, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesbr02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bronny James<\/a> has been placed under a microscope to start his professional career. The 55th pick of this year\u2019s draft and son of\u00a0<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>, Bronny\u2019s reputation has been both built up and torn down by a wide audience. The disparaging remarks took a sharp turn recently, as an <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.the-sun.com\/sport\/11997322\/bronny-james-los-angeles-lakers-nba-summer-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anonymous report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> claimed that James Jr. received <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/25\/lakers-bronny-james-summer-league-teammate-speaks-out-protest\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cspecial treatment\u201d at Summer League<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which led to chemistry issues with the rest of the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of Bronny\u2019s teammates on that Summer League squad made his feelings known about that story in a recent interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Lakers Rookie Dispels Latest Criticism of Bronny James<\/h2>\n<h3><b>Blake Hinson Speaks Up for Bronny<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While appearing on the <a  href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uuYTnvApeXg?si=uhg5KgdTS1YSInh-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lakers Nation Podcast<\/a>, host Trevor Lane asked Lakers two-way rookie <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hinsobl01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blake Hinson<\/a>\u00a0whether the rumors of James\u2019s treatment were true. In response, Hinson stood up for his teammate and denied that those issues ever occurred:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo, I mean, where\u2019s that at? I mean\u2014honestly, you know, you know how it is. Stuff like that doesn\u2019t really shock me, but we need to figure out if that\u2019s even true. Because, to be totally honest with you, as far as his treatment, he\u2019s just a normal guy. He just plays basketball, he really stays out the way. You know what I mean? He\u2019s a cool dude. I don\u2019t really understand how something like that came out. That\u2019s nonsense to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lakers rookie Blake Hinson addressed the rumors about Bronny James on the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LakersNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@LakersNation<\/a> pod with <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_MatthewPeralta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@_MatthewPeralta<\/a> and I: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3R4IrNob9c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/3R4IrNob9c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Trevor_Lane\/status\/1817322155312636320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 27, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following a rough start to his summer play in Sacramento and Las Vegas, James Jr. silenced some doubters with a string of great performances in two of the Lakers\u2019 final three games. While in Vegas, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and one assist per game on 35% shooting from the field, 16% from three and 100% from the free-throw line.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Unwarranted Criticism<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report, which included quotes from a \u201cLakers insider,\u201d is the latest in a long line of criticism towards Bronny. As James Jr. has proven time and again, he pays no mind to the pressure that surrounds him, even though he is clearly aware of it. As he said during his <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/HUaiohuMJZs?si=ObkaUVIHMm-_zlLd&amp;t=560\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">introductory press conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor sure, [there\u2019s an] amplified amount of pressure. I\u2019ve already seen it\u2014social media and stuff, the internet and stuff\u2014talking about how I might not deserve an opportunity. But, you know, I\u2019ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s nothing different\u2014it\u2019s more amplified for sure\u2014but I can get through it.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Head coach <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/redicjj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">JJ Redick<\/a> has emphasized how Bronny has earned his shot in the league. He added that <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SiriusXMNBA\/status\/1811949296389943659\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he sees James as a development player<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014in some ways dumbing down the lofty expectations others have placed on him.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe\u2019s certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time in the G League. As we sort of build out our player development program, he\u2019s going to be an important part of that.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While many will try to tear Bronny\u2019s name down for a variety of reasons, he and the rest of the Lakers have shown that such hate will get nowhere. Having teammates like Hinson publicly supporting him only helps the cause. James Jr.\u2019s attitude towards the pressure is a laudable one. He has effectively combated the critics by maintaining a high character, a trait that will serve him very well throughout his career.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even before he\u2019s logged a second of real NBA action, Bronny James has been placed under a microscope to start his professional career. The 55th pick of this year\u2019s draft and son of\u00a0LeBron James, Bronny\u2019s reputation has been both built up and torn down by a wide audience. The disparaging remarks took a sharp turn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":85081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[4572,2279,38,1224],"class_list":["post-87678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-bronny-james","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba-summer-league"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}