Bronny James: ‘I personally don’t like summer league at all’

For two offseasons in a row, Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has been a staple at Las Vegas Summer League, with the 20-year-old garnering attention every time he steps on the court.

But this summer, he admitted something to ESPN: that he doesn’t actually like being in Las Vegas for Summer League action.

“My head is all over the place,” he said. “There’s so much going on in Vegas. I personally don’t like summer league at all. I like the competition and the games, but I don’t like coming to Vegas and being in Vegas … After this, I’m just doing nothing.”

Across his Summer League action in California and Las Vegas this year, James got off to a bit of a slow start before he flipped a switch over his final few games in Vegas. In his last three outings, he scored 14, 17 and 18 points while showing off his playmaking chops with 13 assists over those games.

Last offseason, James largely struggled in Summer League action, which led to increased noise about whether he belonged at the NBA level. That noise only got louder when he looked out of sorts at times in the NBA preseason and regular season.

But in the G League last season, the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer showed off his potential frequently, leading to some optimism about his potential as a pro. He was even able to parlay that momentum into some quality NBA minutes at times.

Now, he may be in line to have a legit role with the Lakers this coming season, which would give him a chance to silence a lot of his critics. He has seemingly shown substantial growth since being drafted, and at just 20 years old, he has all the time in the world to reach his ceiling.

In addition to trying to prove himself as a rotation player at the NBA level, James will try to help the Lakers work their way into the championship conversation after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season. L.A. has made some key roster additions this offseason that may help the squad get closer to the ultimate goal.

Meanwhile, in some good news for James, it’s possible that he won’t have to play in Las Vegas for Summer League action again.