Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss believes the sky is the limit for Bronny James as she defended their decision to select LeBron’s son with the 55th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft.
“We have to let the kid have an opportunity to play and prove that he should be in a Laker uniform,” Buss said on AM 570 LA Sports on August 22. “Everything that we’ve seen from him and about him and his work ethic and just some of the things that he’s had to overcome, being the son of a big star, he works hard, he’s dedicated and he really wants to do this. If we can have a roster of players with that same mentality, then I think the sky is the limit.”
Buss’ bold statement came after Bronny struggled for most of his NBA Summer League stint.
Bronny averaged just 4.3 points on an atrocious 22.6% from the field and 0-for-15 from the 3-point line in his first four games. However, he bounced back strong in his final two appearances — scoring 25 points with 3 assists while shooting 10-of-21 shooting, including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc — before getting pulled out in the Lakers’ NBA Summer League finale.
New Lakers coach JJ Redick referred to Bronny as “test case No. 1” for the Lakers’ new and modernized player development program under his watch. Bronny is expected to spend most of his rookie season in the G League.
How Bronny’s Rookie Deal Stack Up Against Former No. 55 Picks
The Lakers signed Bronny to a four-year, $7.9 million rookie deal on the same day his father, LeBron James, reached a two-year, $104 million max deal, according to multiple reports.
Bronny’s deal is fully guaranteed in the first two years while the third year has a “significant partial guarantee of $1.3 million” and the final year is a team option, per Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto.
A former McDonald’s All-American before his cardiac arrest last year slowed down his basketball development, Bronny became the first 55th overall pick in a long while to earn a multi-million guaranteed rookie contract right before the NBA Summer League.
Normally, second-round selections need to impress in the Summer League and in the training camp to earn rookie contracts.
Of the last five No. 55 picks before Bronny, only Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos managed to earn a multi-year rookie deal with $75,000 partially guaranteed, which he signed after one year in the G League.
Kyle Guy (2019), Jay Scrubb (2020), Aaron Wiggins (2021) and Isaiah Wong (2023) only got two-way contracts in their first year.
Wiggins successfully earned his way to a rotation spot with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 6-foot-5 Wiggins, who averaged 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists off the bench last season, is now on his second guaranteed NBA contract. He just signed a five-year, $47 million deal this offseason.
Summer League Teammates ‘Frustrated’ With Bronny James Star Treatment
Some of Bronny James’ Lakers teammates in the NBA Summer League were left “frustrated” with the star treatment he received, according to a report from The Sun in July.
“The attention he attracted was ‘very frustrating’ for the players to see, and his alleged star treatment caused friction among the team, which went 0-5 to start the tournament, per a Lakers insider,” the report said.
“That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry,” said an anonymous source quoted by The Sun who also said they have “nothing against” Bronny.
“And you could feel that there was no unity [between] this group of guys as Bronny was the main guy and the others didn’t feel that it was right, that he deserved that,” the Lakers insider told The Sun.
Bronny averaged 25.1 minutes per game, the second most behind the Lakers’ first-round selection Dalton Knecht.
