Drafted at 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bronny James was the subject of headlines, outshining most rookies in his draft class. While being the son of LeBron James has its perks, it also serves as a double-edged sword as the 19-year-old is given the diva treatment by the organization.
Finishing with a 0-5 record in the NBA Summer League, the rostered players for the Lakers have reportedly been frustrated with the amount of attention that Bronny is attracting and also his detachment from his teammates, according to the reports of Steve Brenner and Damian Burchardt of US Sun.
“The attention he attracted was ‘very frustrating’ for the players to see, and his alleged star treatment caused friction among the team, which went 0-5 to start the tournament, per a Lakers insider,” Burchartdt and Brenner writes. “‘That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry,’ the source said, who noted they have ‘nothing against’ Bronny.”

The Lakers drafted Dalton Knecht at 17th overall and is deemed as an NBA-ready prospect. However, the Lakers summer league team feels that Bronny James is indeed getting special treatment and they are not buying into it.
“‘That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry– And you could feel that there was no unity [between] this group of guys as Bronny was the main guy and the others didn’t feel that it was right, that he deserved that. I mean, he was treated as someone apart, not like all of us, and that is very annoying as we didn’t feel any chemistry in this group of players,” said the source.

Carlos Boozer gets honest with the Bronny James hate
LeBron James‘ former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate and Los Angeles Lakers forward Carlos Boozer was interviewed by ‘The Athletic’ and he gave a blunt opinion on Bronny James’ detractors, especially on social media.
Many are seeing that this move by Bronny to enter the league is premature and Boozer doesn’t understand why there are huge expectations from a 55th overall pick.
“He’s getting a lot of hate for no reason, just because he’s LeBron’s son. LeBron has a lot of haters…He’s still a rookie. He was the 55th pick. I don’t know why they’re expecting, like, that he’s supposed to be the next generational player. He has to become his own player. You have to let that happen.”
At the end of the 2024 NBA Summer League, Bronny James averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 25 minutes of playing time. He also shot 35% from the field and a dismal 15.8% beyond the three-point line.
