Bronny James hits back at criticism in rare interview on rookie season, Lakers, and his father, LeBron

Bronny James, teammate and 20-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron, has finally addressed the controversy surrounding his rookie season.

‘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,’ James told The Athletic in a rare exclusive interview. ‘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***ing robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.’

After an unremarkable single season at USC, Bronny was drafted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft and given a four-year, fully guaranteed contract that critics felt had more to do with pleasing his father than adding a promising, young guard.

Since he and his dad became the first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court, as they did in the season opener, the 6-foot-3 Bronny has primarily played in the G League, where he’s quietly made significant strides and is now averaging 20.6 points and 5.2 assists per game.

But despite his improvements on the court, Bronny is has continued to be criticized as a ‘nepo baby,’ whose NBA career was handed to him on a platter. And LeBron, too, has taken criticism over the perception he’s pushed Bronny into the spotlight.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith publicly commented on Bronny and the ‘position he was put in by his dad’ leading to a courtside confrontation between the sports pundit and four-time NBA MVP at a Lakers game earlier this month.

Bronny James, teammate and 20-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron, has finally addressed the controversy surrounding his rookie season

Bronny James of the South Bay Lakers is interviewed after the game against the Valley Suns

Despite this noise encircling his first year of pro ball, Bronny has kept his focus on the court, he told The Athletic.

‘But I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day,’ he said. ‘That’s what [Lakers general manager] Rob [Pelinka] 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.’

The results have been noticeable to anyone keep track of G League box scores.

Never known as a perimeter marksman at USC or in high school, Bronny’s 3-point accuracy has crept up to a solid 36.1 percent this season, and he’s made 80 percent of his free-throw attempts.

He’s also made good on his reputation for hard work and focus on the defensive side, averaging 1.8 steals a game and often defending the opponent’s top ball handler.

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

Bronny has seen more action at the NBA level, too. During a March 14 loss to Denver, Bronny logged 16 minutes, making a few impressive plays on defense and scoring five points, albeit while missing a few wide-open looks.

‘It’s great that [head coach JJ Redick] had the level of trust to throw him into a big game the other night at Denver, which is a tough place to play, and he got in the game, made a couple defensive plays, made a corner 3, and I think that’s what he prides himself in is the 3-and-D type of archetype,’ Pelinka told The Athletic. ‘And for him to be doing it in moments in NBA games, that’s great that he’s even grasped that already.’

As for practices, Redick told The Athletic that Bronny has been ‘fantastic’ of late, adding his biggest area of improvement has been his ‘playmaking.’

‘I don’t just mean that in terms of passing, but just his ability to play on and off the ball as a decision-maker — either a scorer or a passer,’ Redick said.

Cameras caught LeBron James having a heated exchange with Stephen A. Smith this month

Bronny now sees himself as more confident than he’s ever been at any level dating back to high school.

While admitting that his time at USC was derailed by the cardiac arrest he suffered before his freshman season, Bronny pointed to his consistent playing time in the G League to explain his improvement.

‘I think in high school, I would hold back a little bit, just because of how young I was, my experience, stuff like that,’ Bronny said. ‘Then college came, and with the scare that happened, didn’t really come back with a good amount of confidence. … I also wasn’t really given that freedom in college, even though I wasn’t producing like I wanted to.

‘But going out and getting reps under my belt after that scare, it’s been good for my confidence.’

And as for facing his teammate and father, Bronny is pleased to announce some developments on that front.

‘I can definitely get by him,’ Bronny said.