Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James’ son Bronny received extended playing time when Los Angeles took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 28. He played a season-high 15-plus minutes off the pine but had a rough game in the Lakers’ double-digit loss.
Following the younger James’ lackluster performance, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had some harsh words. He pleaded for the elder James “as a father” to “stop this” as Smith doesn’t believe the younger James is ready for the NBA. After making those comments, Smith alleged he was contacted by folks close to the elder James.
On Saturday, former NBA forward Richard Jefferson, who won a title with the elder James, reacted to the younger James’ most recent G League performance with the South Bay Lakers and seemingly threw some shade at Smith.
I beg you as a father, keep grinding and don’t listen to the BS. 🤝 https://t.co/br7SAyTdOI
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) February 8, 2025
The younger James was arguably the best player on the floor in that contest. He led all scorers on either team with 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor and three made 3-pointers.
The 20-year-old impacted the game in other ways as well, as he totaled six rebounds, a pair of assists and one steal.
The younger James got off to a rough start to his G League career, as he scored only six points on inefficient shooting in his debut against the Salt Lake City Stars in November. His struggles continued in some of the following games.
However, he now seems quite comfortable with South Bay, as he’s scored 23-plus points in three of his past four G League games.
Perhaps it’s only a matter of time until the younger James will carry all of the success that he’s seeing with South Bay in the G League over to the NBA level.
While the rookie has had to deal with a lot of negative attention this season, there are certainly a lot of people who want to see him succeed, and it would be fascinating to see him play a legitimate role at the NBA level.
