Featured Image Credit: Photo: Getty Images
Topics: Basketball, Lebron James, NBA
Ben McAleer
Bronny James has earned praise from Dwyane Wade this week, which comes after the son of NBA legend LeBron excelled for the Lakers against the Clippers earlier this week.
James scored 12 points in the first half and ended the game with 17 points to his name in a 67-58 loss in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League.
While father LeBron has been linked with a trade to the Dallas Mavericks, James has been forging his own legacy at the Lakers.
LeBron recently reacted to a shot by Bronny in a Lakers match, stating: “He learnt that from me!”
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And if Bronny can go some way to replicating the 40-year-old’s exploits in the NBA, then the Lakers have a player on their hands.
Stephen A. Smith, who previously suggested that Bronny only played for the Lakers ‘because of his dad’, was made to eat his words back in March as the 20-year-old put in a career-high performance against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I might have been wrong. Are you listening, LeBron James?” iconic NBA pundit Smith said earlier this month.
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And Smith isn’t the only one to praise Bronny, who has signed a four-year guaranteed contract with the Lakers.
“Bronny cold! I watch his movement, and it’s not saying he gonna be a 30-point a game scorer in the league. But bro, the kid can hoop. He got it all,” LeBron’s former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade said earlier this week.
Wade, James and Chris Bosh were key for the Heat between 2010 and 2014, the Big Three at times dubbed ‘The Heatles’ for their exploits together.
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Bronny has split his time playing between the Lakers and minor G league affiliate South Bay Lakers but he’s expected to become a core player for the former next season.
With LeBron at the centre of trade rumours linking the NBA all-time points holders with a switch to the Mavs, Bronny was asked about reports suggesting his father will depart the Lakers.
“One of my friends called me talking about where, what I was gonna do, 'cause they seen my dad, whatever,” Bronny is quoted as saying by the Athletic recently.
“I didn't see it. [My friend] called me. I was like, 'Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about'. I don't really pay attention to that stuff.”
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The Lakers are next in action against the Boston Celtics on Thursday before they face the Denver Nuggets on Friday to round off the NBA Summer League.