Lakers' Austin Reaves Sounds Off on 'Bad Rap' for Bronny James

Austin Reaves is excited to see new teammate Bronny James forge his own path in the NBA, even if the expectations might be a bit high.

The Los Angeles Lakers drafted James, the son of star LeBron James, in the second round of the NBA Draft. During a recent tour of the Phillippines, Reaves said he is excited to see the former USC guard grow on the court but acknowledged that it may be difficult in the shadow of his famous father.

“For me to be able to be around him and see what that’s going to be like,” Reaves said, via SB Nation's Nicole Ganglani . “It’s going to be very cool for me. I also can’t wait to see Bronny grow. Obviously, he gets a bad rap because of who his dad is. Everybody’s going to hold him to the standards of his dad when the kid just wants to play and have fun and create his own path so I can’t wait to get around him and see him grow and ultimately make a career for himself in his own way.”

Bronny James had a slow start in the summer league season but finished strong, scoring 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting over the final two games. After missing all 15 three-pointers through his first four games, James went 3-of-8 in his final two games.

Related: Bronny James' First NBA Summer League Points Has The Internet Buzzing

Bronny James is expected to start the season on the Lakers roster, giving him and dad LeBron James the chance to become the first father-and-son teammates in NBA history.