Bronny James: “I See Everything People Are Saying”

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James got personal in a rare interview about the relentlessness of the NBA season — and how it’s fueled him.

James is perhaps the most-scrutinized 55th-round draft pick in history, with constant headlines about his ability to play at the highest level of basketball. It all came to a head when his father LeBron James confronted NBA commentator Stephen A Smith during a game, allegedly telling him to stop disparaging his son.

But Bronny emphasized that he sees the criticism, and he’s not immune to feeling emotional about it as others might assume otherwise.

“I see everything that people are saying and people think I’m a f****** robot, like I don’t have any feelings,” said Bronny.

“My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go,” he said. “One ear and out the other — put my head down and come to work and be positive every day.”

“But sometimes, it fuels me a little bit.” 

That fuel has propelled tangible progress, as seen by his numbers in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. He’s averaging 17.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 16 games, proving he’s more than what his critics think he is. He also has shown flashes of brilliance for the Lakers in the NBA, such as recently hitting a clutch corner 3-pointer against the Denver Nuggets over Nikola Jokic.

“I definitely think I’ve improved. Not only as a player but just having a different mindset to go out and play my game that I know how to play,” he said. “I feel good about it — I see the progress,” he said.

Bronny also took the time to credit Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, saying it helps his determination to be a better player beyond just his star name. “That’s what Rob wants me to do as a young guy — get better every day.” 

After his impressive 3-pointer over Jokic, Pelinka said “It’s great that JJ [Redick] has the level of trust to put him into a big game.”