Bronny James is a legit hooper. That’s what fans have been claiming amidst the hate train against the youngster. And Thursday night, with his father, LeBron James, and stars Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and more out of the Lakers roster, Bronny had a golden opportunity to prove himself against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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The 20-year-old got an early start and went to work against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. Going into halftime, Bronny led the Lakers in scoring with eight points on the board. He also managed to create a memorable highlight reel against Giannis.
While guarded by the Greek Freak outside the three-point line, Bronny faked moving to his right and had Giannis go on the wrong foot. The guard then charged toward the bucket, moving to his left into the paint. Giannis tried to stop Bronny by grabbing his right shoulder but in vain. The refs then made a fairly questionable call that tainted the brilliant play.
The officials deemed the ball out of bounds, bailing out Giannis. Lakers fans were obviously pumped to see Bronny taking on Giannis. And several of them took to social media to call out the refs.
One fan posted the clip with the caption, “REFS SAVING GIANNIS FROM BRONNY.”
https://twitter.com/LakeShowYo/status/1902929758687756420
Bronny’s move was a treat to watch indeed. The 20-year-old displayed great control over the ball while going against Giannis. One fan exclaimed: “BRONNY HAD GIANNIS ON SKATES.”
Most of the reactions were written in all caps, an indicator of just how excited fans were to see Bronny do that to Giannis. BricksCenter also posted the clip with the caption, “BRONNY BROKE GIANNIS’ ANKLES.”
BRONNY BROKE GIANNIS’ ANKLES 😭
(Via @LADEig) pic.twitter.com/7VlMKGn4as
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) March 21, 2025
The stars were missed though, and the Lakers went down 89-118 to the Bucks, with Bronny providing the only cheer for the fans. In 29:53 minutes of play, he scored 17 points, three rebounds, and five assists while shooting a whopping 70% from the field.
The 20-year-old has been putting up numbers in the G League as well, which has clearly boosted his confidence.
Bronny is averaging 20.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game in the G for the South Bay Lakers. While his NBA numbers are not worth flexing yet, a few more outings like the one against the Bucks will help him get there soon.
Lakers coach JJ Redick has complete faith in him and is working on developing him as a playmaker.
“Biggest area of improvement is probably his playmaking, and I don’t just mean that in terms of passing, but just his ability to play on and off the ball as a decision-maker — either a scorer or a passer,” said Redick.
The signs are there that if given the opportunities, Bronny can develop into a good player. Like most good things, it’ll surely take some time and patience.
