Intrigue and speculation continue to swirl around Bronny James following the 2024 NBA Summer League tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers rookie showcased glimpses of promise during the preseason competition, but skepticism persists regarding the NBA future of LeBron James‘ eldest son.
Despite finding his form in the last two Summer League games, Bronny still has much to prove to his coaches, teammates, father, and the fervent Lakers fans. Throughout the tournament, Bronny averaged 8.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.0 APG.
However, not everything went as expected following the rookie’s debut. An anonymous player, who shared the locker room with the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, alleged preferential treatment toward Bronny, which didn’t sit well with several Lakers teammates.
What happened?
According to the U.S. Sun, the attention Bronny received during his Summer League debut left his Lakers teammates feeling frustrated: “They treated him differently, not like the rest of us, and that’s very annoying because we felt no chemistry within this group of players.”
Bronny James Jr. #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers scores on Emoni Bates #21 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half of a 2024 NBA Summer League game. Candice Ward/Getty Images
The anonymous player added, “I ended up being very frustrated because I was never put in the best situation or even included in some plays or game plans because they wanted Bronny to show his skills and shine.”
“If you talk to any other player that was part of the roster of the California Classic and the Summer League, most of them would tell you the same thing. The tensions were visible, and pretty much we were all thinking about the end of the Summer League to get out of here and focus on our next step in our careers,” continued Bronny’s teammate.
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The unnamed player concluded by saying, “He is not ready for all this, and he isn’t ready for the NBA in my opinion.” Los Angeles ended the Summer League with three straight wins, and Bronny delivered much better performances in his final two outings.
