In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers introduced their 2024 draft class that includes Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.
After rarely speaking to the media in high school and college, James was naturally peppered with questions, most of them about his dad LeBron now that they’re officially teammates.
Bronny has been the subject or a lot of criticism since the Lakers drafted him, but he is not concerned about that or the pressure that comes with playing alongside LeBron.
“It’s for sure an amplified amount of pressure,” Bronny admitted. “I’ve already seen it in the media and on the internet and stuff talking about how I might not deserve an opportunity. But I’ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life, so it’s nothing different. It’s more amplified, for sure. But I can get through it.”
While LeBron has discussed wanting to play with Bronny in the NBA for years, that was his desire and not the 19-year-old’s.
“For me, I always try to put that narrative of me trying to get my name out myself, but just coming in and trying to get better,” Bronny said of his focus. “Rob has told me that there’s a great development system here, so I just want to come in and get my work in and get better every day.
“I never really had a thought of me going to play with my dad, but that’s always there to take part in, but it wasn’t the main focus of mine.”
In fact, Bronny added that he hasn’t even really had conversations with his dad about playing in the NBA and what comes with it.
“We haven’t gone too deep into that stuff yet, especially because we haven’t even started Summer League yet. But stuff he’s been telling me my whole life. Just having that work ethic and coming in and getting your work in and listening to your coaches and being coachable. Stuff like that he’s driven into my head my whole life.”
It’s easy to see how humble Bronny is, just wanting to come in and work on his game to develop into a quality NBA player for the Lakers. He hears all of the noise surrounding him but is not paying attention.
“To be honest, just living by the day. Trying not to care about what other people think about me because there’s a lot of people that have something to say. But yeah, I’m just taking it by the day and staying sane while doing it,” Bronny said.
Bronny James on playing with LeBron James on Lakers
While it wasn’t in the NBA, Bronny James surely played a lot of basketball with his dad growing up in the driveway. He feels that will help as they join forces on the Lakers although his focus remains on doing whatever he can to help the team.
“For me, just building that foundation of playing the right way,” Bronny said. “Like I said, just being that guy to be coachable and play my role and keep working while I’m doing it.”
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