The Special Treatment Of Bronny James Reportedly Bothered Teammates
The NBA wrapped up its Summer League this week, and Bronny James's debut was one of the major storylines of the Las Vegas tournament.
Playing his first schedule of games in a Lakers uniform, Bronny caused the social media splash that typically follows him — as the son of LeBron James — along with some interesting buzz.
Bronny James reportedly will spend most of his rookie season in the G League. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Following Monday's Summer League finale this week, a new report surfaced that Lakers teammates — LA's collection of rookies and G-Leaguers — did not mesh with Bronny, seemingly because of his star treatment.
READ: NBA Journeyman Calls Lakers Drafting Bronny An 'Abuse of Power' By LeBron James
With all the extra attention on Bronny, an anonymous Lakers teammate, speaking with the U.S. Sun, relayed that the 3-2 Lakers' chemistry was severely lacking.
A "tension" surfaced among the Lakers' young group of guys, which also served as an introduction to the pros for other teammates. This inevitably produced an odd dynamic between the fresh faces and the sought-after Bronny James.
SAN FRANCISCO - Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of the 2024 California Classic summer league game at Chase Center on July 06, 2024. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
"That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry," the teammate relayed. "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."
For the sake of the box office, the NBA Summer League heavily featured Bronny as a player to watch. He had much to prove after averaging less than five points a game at USC.
Bronny appeared slightly better: averaging 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and one assist in four Summer League appearances.
READ: LeBron James Backtracks NBA Hype On Son Bronny James As Draft Stock Plummets
James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 games at USC.
All the offseason smoke around Bronny focused on his nepotism as the son of the Lakers' most prized player.
Bronny was drafted well beyond projections, most of which had him as an impending free agent, and received a guaranteed, multi-year, $7.9 million rookie contract.
LeBron, the Lakers superstar, previously claimed that Bronny could start on the Lakers, setting him up for unrealistic expectations before playing a game.
HOUSTON - Bronny James of the West team talks to Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2023 McDonald's High School Boys All-American Game at Toyota Center on March 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
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