Rachel Nichols surprisingly defended Bronny James amidst recent criticism for his poor performances in the NBA Summer League. She noted that Bronny is being judged as if he is a top-10 pick, and not as the 55th overall pick. Nichols added that the stats do not matter for Bronny, and he should use this time to adjust to the NBA.
"Totally unfair. I think that people are looking at him as if he is a top-10 pick. He is not a top-10 pick. He is a #55 pick. The expectations for a #55 pick should be that you are largely headed to the G-League, and may get some games up in the NBA. Last year's #55 pick played 4 total minutes in the NBA..."
"To evaluate Bronny next to top-10 picks versus what other guys at the #55 have done is totally unfair. And obviously, it's going to happen, we're watching him more because of who he is, and the fact that he is playing on the Lakers , in addition to being LeBron 's son... In fact, Alex Sarr, who was the #2 pick overall just had a bomber of a game..."
"JJ Redick has come out and said, he is a developmental player, we all knew this going on. So to just sit there and criticize him for Summer League numbers... What Bronny needs to get used to in the Summer League is the speed of the game, he needs to get used to his new coaches and teammates, and he has to get used to the attention he is getting..."
"Every time he touched the ball, the crowd perked up. And when he finally scored in the fourth quarter, there was just this wave. Fans actually criticizing the coach from the stands saying 'Get Bronny the ball!'. No one wants that as a player... You don't want people in the stands trying to make your pay for you. You want to earn it. Bronny has to earn the damn ball."
"He knows that he hasn't, yet. Which is fine, this is who he is at this point. He's had to deal with a ton of media, he didn't do media after the game on Monday night, which is okay, he's not required to. But you get the impression that it has been a lot. So I think the key for him is getting used to all of that and the stats to me will follow."
Nichols had previously been a little bit skittish when it came to Bronny, claiming that he would not be a star in the NBA, citing his size and his overall style of play as the reason. LeBron James even unfollowed her for the comments that she made about Bronny .
It didn't help that Nichols had previously compared second-round picks to singles at a gentlemen's establishment , especially considering Bronny has long been tipped to be a second-round pick. While she hasn't walked back those comments, she is trying to quieten some of the criticism surrounding Bronny.
Bronny James Doing Alright For His Level
While Bronny James' performances have been far from great, he is not having a disastrous showing at the Summer League. Bronny, as Nichols mentioned, is a late second-round pick, and is more of a future project for the Lakers, who will get some minutes with them, but mostly play in the G-League.
And Bronny is far from the only player who is having poor performances. Alex Sarr, the second overall pick in the draft, had a goose egg in his last Summer League game, scoring 0 points and going 0-15 from the field . Considering how high he was drafted, that should be more concerning than Bronny's performances.
And even then, high draft picks having poor games in the Summer League is not uncommon. Jaylen Brown famously had a worse shooting stretch in his first three Summer League games than Bronny James .
Bronny had a better performance in his most recent game, scoring 12 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal, while shooting 5-11 from the field, and 2-5 from the three-point line. Perhaps this is a sign that James has started to figure things out and will take these lessons to pre-season training with the Lakers.
Related: Rich Paul Confirms It Was Jeanie Buss' Decision To Draft Bronny James
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