In Friday night’s 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA rookie Bronny James and head coach JJ Redick made their preseason debuts with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After making his first-quarter entry into the game, Bronny recorded two blocks in the first few minutes, including a chasedown reminiscent of LeBron James.
The former USC Trojan finished with two points on one of six shots, one rebound, one assist, and three blocks in 16 minutes of play. Additionally, Bronny had the third-lowest team plus/minus (-12).
When asked about his son’s debut game, LeBron gave his thoughts on Saturday at Los Angeles’ media availability. A reporter inquired, “What was it like to see Bronny on the court last night?”
“I mean, it’s the first game,” James remarked. “We’ve already completed three practices. In honor of Bronny. For everyone. We want to keep trying to improve and improve. Starting something is usually a terrific approach to determine what has to be worked on. identifying areas where we may improve more. However, it was wonderful to see Bronny there. Seeing JJ was wonderful.”
Bronny was selected by the Lakers with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft’s second round. The 19-year-old averaged 4.8 points on 36.6% shooting, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in his one and only season at USC. The Trojans had a 15–18 record at the end of the 2023–24 season and missed out on any postseason competitions.
LeBron James talks at Lakers practice on Saturday pic.twitter.com/pihw7Yz7Jd
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 5, 2024
In the interview above, LeBron also stated that he will be participating in the Lakers’ upcoming preseason game on Sunday, October 6, against the Phoenix Suns. This will be the first time the two James see NBA action together, if he does. Additionally, it will be the first time a father-son team plays together in the league.
LeBron James responds to remarks made by Russell Westbrook on the Celtics broadcast.
Color analyst and former member of the Boston Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, expressed his support for Russell Westbrook during the team’s preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets, expressing the hope that after everything that transpired while Westbrook was in Los Angeles, he would cause some trouble for the Lakers when those two teams play.
I will reveal to you. He received a lot of criticism for making nine threes against the Lakers, so I’m cheering for him to do so. I’m kind of hoping that he can score a lot of threes against that team because they were a disaster team and he took the brunt of the criticism the entire time.”
Play-by-play commentator Drew Carter of the Boston Celtics then responded sarcastically to Scalabrine’s statement.
“You’re telling me that one of LeBron’s colleagues suddenly turned into a scapegoat? Are you serious?
Celtics commentator says LeBron made Westbrook a scapegoat 👀 pic.twitter.com/5iaMJrgl1J
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) October 4, 2024
When James learned of what the two had stated, he responded to their remarks against Westbrook’s tenure with the Lakers on his X account.
“I traveled all the way to Abu Dhabi in order to be on my… First, have some breakfast! Anyhow, Brodie is a TRUE GOD.” James penned with an emoji salute.
Took a trip all the way to Abu Dhabi to be on my…..Eat some breakfast first! Anyways Brodie a LEGEND 🫡 https://t.co/Ux3Wnl83Y5
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 5, 2024
James deserves the benefit of the doubt when he states that he has nothing against Westbrook because James has been considered as a decent teammate. It seems logical that James still loves one of the finest players who played at the same time as him, even if the Lakers’ experiment with Westbrook ended badly, even though their collaboration wasn’t great.
That doesn’t lessen the fact, though, that LeBron-led teams have consistently featured this. James’ squad will bear most of the burden if one player in particular isn’t performing up to par, which consequently causes problems for the team.
Chris Bosh was the scapegoat in Miami. Kevin Love was the scapegoat in Cleveland. Westbrook was the scapegoat in Los Angeles.
In all honesty, LeBron is not too terribly affected by this tendency because, at the end of the day, it arises because he expects perfection from everyone. As maybe the greatest basketball player of all time, he has earned the right to expect his colleagues to perform at their highest level in order for the team to succeed. He has won numerous titles during his NBA career.
LeBron is not at fault. Even though Westbrook was a failure with the Lakers, his failures nonetheless contributed to his status as another one of the many fall men who have accompanied LeBron for the past twenty plus years.
