Bronny’s First Summer League Bucket Has LeBron James Hyped At Team USA Practice

Tonoy Sengupta | 07/07/2024
Bronny's First Summer League Bucket Has LeBron James Hyped At Team USA Practice

Bronny James has officially played his first game in the NBA’s Summer League. During this time, he got his first NBA bucket, which prompted his father, LeBron James, to announce his pride and joy in his son.

Bronny’s first bucket was a rather simple one. The 19-year-old drove hard to the rim, before laying it up with his right hand off the glass. But to LeBron it wasn’t the ease with which Bronny scored that mattered, but the fact that he did. A proud dad, the King commented on his son’s first professional basket, saying,

“Come on man! That’s tough! That’s tough! Get loose!”

It’s a bit hard to blame LeBron James for being a bit overexcited about his son. After all, given the doting father he has shown himself to be, this was always slated to happen. The Lakers superstar is likely just excited to play with his son once the next season begins.

That said, it’s not all flowers and sunshine. Unfortunately, James’s debut wasn’t all too great as he only recorded 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, while going 2 for 9 from the field in 21 minutes of action.

That said, even some of the greatest in NBA history have had terrible debuts in the Summer League, with Victor Wembanyama’s debut against the Charlotte Hornets the most recent one. But Bronny’s debut would have done well to calm his nerves a bit, which could make way for a much better showing next time around.

This paired with the fact that James did show just how good he could be on both ends, albeit in flashes, and the Lakers will be very happy with who they drafted.

Bronny James is not the only Lakers’ rookie to have had his debut

The Lakers’ first-round pick, Dalton Knecht also saw his Summer League debut come against the Sacramento Kings tonight. In the 26 minutes he did play, he recorded 12 points, four assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, while shooting 3 of 12 from the field.

It appears that, much like Bronny, Knecht didn’t have all too great of a debut. However, the belief in him will not waver one bit, as even LeBron James recently came out to praise him. Per Ben Golliver, he said,

“Dalton, besides Bronny, was my favorite player in college basketball. … I did not think he would fall to 17 at all. … I’m glad he did.”

At the very least, the Laker Nation has two rookies to be incredibly excited about. With James and Knecht both showing their potential in flashes already, could the two be just the shot in the arm the Lakers need this season?

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Bronny James Dalton Knecht LA Lakers LeBron James NBA

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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