It appears Celtics star Jaylen Brown is not impressed by Bronny James and does not consider the son of LeBron James to be NBA material.
Brown was seen on video appearing to say, “I don’t think Bronny is a pro,” while sitting courtside in Las Vegas with his girlfriend, WNBA free agent Kysre Gondrezick, and WNBA rookie Angel Reese at the July 15 Summer League game between the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
Gondrezick appears to say in response, “I think he’ll be on the G-League team, for sure.”
FULL Video Of Jaylen Brown Talking About Bronny👀:
Brown: “I don’t think Bronny is a pro”
Kysre: “I think he’ll be on the g-league team, for sure.
Brown: “Because of his name, he’s gonna be with the Lakers (main)”
On July 16, Brown responded to the viral video with a tweet that neither confirmed nor denied that he’d commented on Bronny.
“It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity !Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth,” Brown tweeted while sharing a fan-shared clip of the exchange between him and Gondrezick.
Bronny James Struggles in Summer League
During the July 15 game, Bronny struggled to find the basket, especially from the 3-point line, finishing with 2 points, 3 rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes. He went 0-for-3 from 3-point range, extending his Summer League cold spell to 0-for-15 from beyond the arc across four games in California and Las Vegas.
Over four Summer League games, Bronny averaged 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 7-for-31 from the field.
BRONNY’S FIRST 4 GAMES 🤦🏿♂️
MPG: 25.8
PPG: 4.3
FG%: .226 (7-31)
3p%: .000 (0-15)
FT%: .500
RPG: 3.8
APG: 1.5
SPG: 1.3
BPG: 0.8
TOPG: 1.8
+/-: -38 (-9.5 pg)
EMBARRASSING. This kid was set up for failure, all for his dad’s obsession with bragging rights
Despite Bronny’s struggles, new Lakers head coach JJ Redick maintained that the 19-year-old would eventually find his shooting stroke and become a valuable contributor to the Purple & Gold. During the Lakers’ Summer League game on July 12, Redick praised Bronny’s intangibles on the defensive side of the floor.
I genuinely feel sorry for Bronny.
this is BAD
“Overall, we’ve liked what we’ve seen in practice. We like what we’ve seen in the Summer League,” Redick said, according to Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.
Redick doubled down on those comments during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “NBA Radio” on July 13, comparing Bronny’s skillset to that of All-NBA defender Lou Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“[Lou Dort’s] impact – you can’t get into your offense sometimes. The shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure…Bronny eventually will be that guy”
JJ Redick wants to see Bronny James focus on defense as he talks with @TermineRadio, Ryan McDonough, and @Jumpshot8.
Dalton Knecht Showing More Promise in Summer League
The Lakers drafted Dalton Knecht (No. 17) and Bronny (No. 55 overall) with their picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. While Bronny struggled to make an impact through the first four games of the 2024 NBA Summer League, Knecht showed a lot more promise.
During the July 15 game versus the Celtics, Knecht had 19 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, just a few nights after he scored 25 points against the Rockets on July 12.
Lakers’ 17th pick Dalton Knecht continues to get buckets during #NBA2KSummerLeague action 😤
19 PTS | 3 REB | 3 STL
The 23-year-old Knecht spent all three years in college and was therefore always viewed as a more NBA-ready prospect by scouts. After the Lakers drafted him, front-office head Rob Pelinka explained the team never expected to land Knecht.
“Extremely exciting night for the Los Angeles Lakers,” Pelinka said, via NBA.com. “We would have never imagined a player as skilled and perfect for our needs would be there for us (at No. 17) as Dalton Knecht. We had him as a Top 10 player unanimously across our scouting boards.”
While Knecht was a shoo-in to be in the Lakers’ rotation from the onset of the 2024-25 season, Bronny was widely expected to start his career with the South Bay Lakers.
Bronny welcomed the move.
“I’m just looking forward to any basketball I play — no matter what level I’m playing at,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on July 12.
“Honestly, I don’t think Bronny is a pro.”
Jaylen Brown spotted on camera talking about Bronny James while watching him in Summer League 😳
Thoughts? 🤔
Via. @NBCSBoston
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Jaylen Brown Appears to Question Bronny James as a Pro in Viral Video