Bronny James Scores 13, Leads Lakers to Victory Over Cavaliers

The Los Angeles Lakers took down the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday evening to grab their second straight win at Summer League. Los Angeles beat Cleveland by a score of 93-89 and was led by their two draft picks from the 2024 NBA Draft. First round selection Dalton Knecht scored 20 to lead the Lakers, but he got a nice contribution from second-round pick Bronny James. James dropped 13 points to help Los Angeles grab the victory, marking his second straight solid performance in Las Vegas.

James has seen some struggles to start his NBA career during the summer games but it seems that he may be turning a corner. He has looked much more comfortable over the last two contests, likely stemming from more game reps. In addition to his 13 points, James posted five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. He was instrumental in helping the Lakers grab the win, even hitting a clutch step-back three-pointer late in the game.

James was selected with the No. 55 pick by Los Angeles and was met with all sorts of criticism. The son of NBA legend LeBron James, many viewed Bronny as a product of nepotism entering the league. We have even seen some NBA players, such as Boston Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown, call Bronny out for his lack of development. Brown also confirmed that he believes Bronny has talent and is excited to watch him grow in the league.

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This was in part due to his poor first season in college with the USC Trojans. However, it was only a year ago that Bronny suffered from a cardiac arrest attack that caused him to miss the beginning of the college season. At one point, there was doubt that Bronny would even be able to play basketball at all but he was thankfully cleared to resume pursuing his dream.

Despite being picked so late in the draft, Bronny has been the center of attention around the prospects due to a weak class. Being the son of LeBron puts more eyes on him but he has been dealing with it his entire life. So far, he has shown thick skin, which will be needed as he continues his NBA career. He has displayed strong instincts on the defensive end of the floor already and if his shot continues to fall, we could see Bronny playing in the league sooner rather than later. The Lakers know that he is a development type of player.

If they can truly be patient with Bronny James as he develops, Los Angeles could eventually land an impactful player at the NBA level.

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