Bronny James delivered the best performance of his young NBA career on Thursday night, giving LA Lakers fans something to smile about in an otherwise forgettable 29-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-89.
LeBron James’ son set career highs with 17 points, five assists and 30 minutes on the floor, while also tying his personal bests of three rebounds and one block.
Per StatMamba, Bronny’s line of 17 points and five assists on 70% shooting made him the youngest Lakers rookie to post those numbers in a game since Magic Johnson did it in 1979.
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Fans flooded social media with praise after the game.
“Nah this crazy,” one said.
“Great game for Bronny,” another said.
“Bronny making history already! The future is looking bright,” another added.
Some fans even took shots at Stephen A. Smith, who recently had a public spat with LeBron over his criticisms of Bronny.
“DONT F**KING RUN BUM @stephenasmith,” one said.
“@stephenasmith come outside b***h,” another said.
Bronny James on handling criticism in his rookie season
Being the son of one of the game’s greatest players, Bronny James has faced intense scrutiny long before his NBA debut.
In a recent interview with Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Bronny shared how he’s learning to block out the noise and turn negativity into motivation.
“My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down and come to work and be positive every day,” he said.
“But sometimes it just, it fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a f**king robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.”
So far this season, Bronny is averaging just 2.3 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists, playing under six minutes per game.
He said he channels that criticism to push himself to improve — getting into the gym early, studying film and learning from the bench.
“That’s what Rob wants me to do as a young guy, coming in, playing in the G League and learning from far on the bench watching the Lakers play.”
Up next for Bronny James and the Lakers is a matchup with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro
