National Basketball Association

Jaylen Brown clarifies alleged Bronny James criticism at Summer League game

Published Jul. 16, 2024 12:00 p.m. ET

Jaylen Brown took to social media to clarify what was viewed by some as criticism thrown at Bronny James while attending Monday's Summer League game between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity !Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth," Brown wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The post responded to a video where Brown appeared to be telling WNBA players Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese, "I don't think Bronny is a pro."

Meanwhile, James' struggles in the Summer League continued on Monday. The Lakers guard scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field, adding three rebounds, an assist and two turnovers in 25 minutes in an 88-74 loss.

Through four Summer League games, including the two California Classic games, James is averaging 4.3 points per game. He has shot 7-of-31 from the field (22.6%) and is 0-of-14 on 3-point attempts.

"I just feel like I'm in a little slump right now," James told reporters following the Lakers' loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday.

The Lakers added James with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and gave him a fully guaranteed contract shortly after, allowing him and his father, LeBron James, to possibly become the first father-son duo to play together in NBA history.

Los Angeles' decision to draft the younger James was met with polarizing reviews. Some praised it for the uniqueness of the situation. Others weren't sure James was worthy of a draft pick after he averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman at USC, playing in just 25 games after he missed the start of the season due to cardiac arrest he suffered in August 2023.

FOX Sports' Skip Bayless, who defended the Lakers' selection of James, admitted he has grown a bit concerned for the younger James as he's watched him in the Summer League. He admitted that he's gone from evaluating James from, "How good can he be and how quickly?" to "Can he play?"

"It's tearing me apart watching his games. They're getting harder and harder to watch," Bayless said on Tuesday's "Undisputed." "I'm pulling for him. I still believe that he's made of the right stuff. I'm clinging, maybe clinging desperately, to the notion that if you put him with better players that he'll look better.

"But you step back from it and say, ‘Man, what have we seen in the big picture?' It's just four Summer League games, but it is four. We just haven't seen a whole lot. Is that fair?"

As for Brown's possible courtside comment, former Celtics star Paul Pierce said "I'm sure he's not the only one in that building who feels the same way." However, Pierce doesn't want to put too much stock in James' struggles in the Summer League, though he noted that the rookie's "confidence is down."

"Obviously, Bronny James has a lot of work to get to the point where he wants to be a contributor on the Lakers," Pierce said on "Undisputed." "But I don't look at Summer League, and I say this year in and year out, Summer League is really not an indicator of who someone really can be. I feel like, for the most part, Summer League is for stars or potential stars. As a role player, you really can't show who you are.

"He's missed some open shots. He's got to continue to work on it. It's just hard to really tell."