LOS Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James is starting to find his feet in the NBA Summer League.
The 19-year-old put up a strong stat line for the second straight game in a 93-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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James suffered a rough start to life as a Laker after struggling on the field in his first four starts.
There were no issues on Thursday as the former USC Trojan built on a positive performance against the Atlanta Hawks.
Bronny scored 13 points while recording five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
He started strong, scoring eight points in the first half and making 3 of 5 shots.
The point guard finished the game 5 of 10 from the field, including 1 of 3 from 3-point range.
The point total was the highest of the Summer League for James, who had gone 0-15 on 3-pointers to start the tournament.
After a shaky start, his impressive work on Thursday had many fans believing he could steal the No. 55 pick in last month’s draft.
“That’s an NBA player,” one fan responded to video footage of Bronny’s exploits.
“Baby Goat in action,” said a second.
“He found his rhythm,” declared another.
“Everyone who was clowning him is on this side,” commented a fourth.
“I apologize for not being familiar with your game,” declared a fifth.
Bronny revealed after Wednesday’s win over the Hawks that his father LeBron had called him for a pep talk.
Four-time NBA champion LeBron is currently out of the US team for the Paris Olympics.
But he kept an eye on his son’s Summer League matches — and gave some important advice.
Bronny fears
Bronny James struggled during Summer League – and fans began to worry about the rookie.
A social media clip of Bronny during an 88-74 loss to the Celtics went viral when the 2024 second-round pick also hit a three-point shot as time expired.
The 19-year-old didn’t do well in the contest, scoring just two points on 1 of 5 shots, three rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and three fouls.
“I really feel sorry for Bronny. this is BAD”, commented one of them.
“He must be nervous,” wrote another.
“It’s only going to get better from here,” said a third.
“My mom and dad really help me, encouraging me to stay focused and keep being myself,” Bronny said via ESPN.
“So I feel like that’s a big part of how I turned out [tonight].
“[He told me] just stay aggressive.
“Even though my shot didn’t fall, I just stayed aggressive.”
The Lakers return to action on Saturday when they face the Chicago Bulls at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
