In a video footage that went viral on Monday night, Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown appears to indicate he does not believe Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James is a professional. Brown was seated courtside at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the Celtics’ summer league game versus the Lakers, beside his girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese.

Hours later, Brown responded to the clip on social media, noting that he looks forward to seeing James grow:

James, the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, had two points on 1-for-5 shooting, three rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers in 25 minutes in the Lakers’ 88-74 loss to Boston on Monday. James has gone 0 for 15 from three-point range in four summer league games, half in Vegas and half at the California Classic in Sacramento. He won’t be 20 until October, and he was drafted as a defense-first development project.

 

In an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio last week, Lakers coach JJ Redick stated that James will ultimately become an excellent point-of-attack defender like Oklahoma City Thunder wing Lu Dort.

“He’s a development player. That’s how we’re looking at Bronny. He’s certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time as well in the G League,” Redick said. “As we sort of build out our player development program, he’s going to be an important part of that. And what I’ve communicated to him, right now, what we’re looking for is defensive ball pressure. I told him this yesterday. I said, ‘I don’t care if you have 10 fouls, I don’t care if you get blown by. What I do care about is if you’re on the ball and you’re three feet off the ball. You have to be a guy that’s a ball hawk at all times.’

 

“We’re going to develop his shot. We’ll develop his ball skills,” Redick continued. “He’s already got a great feel. He has a really instinctive nature on the defensive end.”