LeBron James ‘Super Proud’ Of How Bronny James Has Handled ‘Scrutiny’ At Such A Young Age

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said on his podcast with JJ Redick that he’s “super proud” of how Bronny James has handled “scrutiny” at such a young age. 

Bronny is 19 years old. 

“I wouldn’t be able to handle the scrutiny and all the things that he got going on at his age, at his level, with social media,” LeBron said. “Like I didn’t have social media to deal with when I came in at 18. I did have a lot of scrutiny. I did have a lot of things that was put on my shoulders, but I didn’t have every single day, around-the-clock news coverage, sports shows, things talking about this particular person every single day.

“Or you go online or on social media and X and Instagram and everyone can comment, every single day, about whatever they wanna say. I didn’t have to deal with that. And to see him handle it with such class and just like self-awareness and just staying even-keeled is just a remarkable thing man. And super proud of him.”

Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks for USC this season while shooting 36.6% from the field, 26.7% from beyond the arc and 67.6% from the free-throw line. 

Bronny played well in the second scrimmage in Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine. He finished with 13 points in 23 minutes while shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.

LeBron’s son crushed the 3-point star shooting drill, going 19/25 from deep. 

Bronny has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He has until May 29 to decide whether to stay in the draft or return to college.

“My job is just to play a role and play the right way, make sure I get my teammates involved and stuff like that,” Bronny said. “But again, I was just super grateful for the opportunity to be out there. I felt like I should be out there.”

Multiple NBA executives told Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times that their teams have discussed drafting Bronny in the first round to lure LeBron to their team in free agency.

LeBron can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his 2024-25 player option with the Lakers.