Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has been a lightning rod for criticism.
This in part due to the fact that his father has been one of the most polarizing players in basketball for well over a decade. As the son of a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA MVP, there’s a level of attention he attracts that others simply won’t.
However, James’s on-court performance has been the source of controversy as well. The jury is out on whether or not the 19-year-old will have a fruitful career. He wouldn’t be the first or last son of professional player who didn’t. Yet, there’s added pressure on James. Not only is he the son of the face of the NBA, there’s a sense that he’s only even in the league because of his father.
The debate has raged on across television and social media. It’s been such a constant that it’s almost become white noise. That being said, nobody expected there to be friendly fire.
Lakers’ Bronny James Hit By Friendly Fire After Summer League
“The attention he attracted (during Summer League) was ‘very frustrating’ for the players to see, and his alleged star treatment caused friction among the team…,” reports The U.S. Sun’s Steve Brenner and Damian Burchardt.
“That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry…
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 anonymous source adds that they have “nothing against” James. However, one of James’s teammates admits that “with ‘almost everything centered around Bronny,’ it was tough to enjoy hooping.”
“I mean, he was treated as someone apart, not like all of us…,” he continues. “We didn’t feel any chemistry in this group of players…”
“I ended up being very frustrated because I was never put in the best situation, or even put in some plays or game plans because they wanted Bronny to show his skills and shine,” he said.
Earned Not Given?
“I ended up being very frustrated because I was never put in the best situation… because they wanted Bronny to show his skills and shine,” James’s Summer League teammate explains.
The spectacle was so off-putting that he and others were counting down the seconds until they could leave Las Vegas.
“If you talk to any other player that was part of the (Summer League) roster… most of them would tell you the same thing.
The tensions were visible, and pretty much we were all thinking about the end of the Summer League to get out of here and focus on our next step in our careers.”
To reiterate, the crux of their issue was that there were multiple players whose opportunities were limited by James’s presence.
While feeling “a bit bad” for the 19-year-old after his courageous comeback from cardiac arrest, they have lives and ambitions as well. Even more to the point, they don’t have a highly influential megastar for a parent; someone that can pull strings for them. More than the son of the man who made the phrase popular, their opportunities have to be earned, not given.
Nobody can fault James for who is father is. Nobody can blame him for Lakers president Jeanie Buss and vice president Rob Pelinka trying anything to get his father to re-sign, including drafting him. Furthermore, like them, James legitimately wants to have a successful NBA career.
Nonetheless, when trying to build a championship-contender, a team’s goal should be maximizing the talent base.
This can be achieved through evaluation, acquisition, or development. However, being overly eager about showcasing a single young player isn’t a pathway to a title. Not when that player averaged 4.8 points per game on 36.6 percent shooting from the field the previous season. Not when said player would’ve probably gone undrafted if not for his namesake.
Who Didn’t Get A Fair Shake?
Looking at the Lakers guards who didn’t get much of a chance during Summer League, two players stand out.
Kyle Mangas
Kyle Mangas played 12 total minutes, all in the span of one game. This is surprising because Mangas averaged 28.2 points and 1.9 steals per game on 58.1 percent shooting in his last two college seasons. Last season, he played for the Indiana Mad Ants, the Indiana Pacers’ G League affiliate. In 34 games, he averaged 17.9 points and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field.
The 25-year-old was also selected as an Up Next Game participant for the G League’s All-Star weekend.
Quincy Olivari
2-time Conference USA selection Quincy Olivari may have also been miffed by the focus on James.
Olivari played a fair bit more than Mangas, tallying 75 total minutes after five games. However, after averaging 18.9 points per game over the past two seasons, the scorer probably hoped to get more shots up. To that point, he took just 7.0 attempts per game.
For comparison, James took 8.7 attempts per game. This is a minuscule difference in a vacuum. Yet, it’s magnified by James’s relative performance in college. With the hoops prince also getting off to a slow start in Summer League, perhaps Olivari should’ve gotten more of a chance to shine.