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Former Los Angeles Laker guard Nick Young had some advice for Bronny James on Wednesday as the rookie battles through a horrible professional start.
He wants him to “play with the confidence of ‘My dad owns the NBA.'”
Essentially, Young was telling Bronny to play looser and with less pressure. The way he worded it, however, was interesting.
Bronny is not a 3 and D guy stop just saying stuff to be polite Bronny can play ball just take them wash a– bad luck Tyler Perry braids out lol .. and play with the confidence of Thanasis like I wish a mf would say something to me and yo a– is cut or fire .. play with the confidence of my dad own the nba what they gonna do to me.. have fun out there and miss with confidence that s— will start falling
-Nick Young // X: @NickSwagyPYoung
There’s a lot to unpack here.
While Young wants to see Bronny play with confidence, his reasoning didn’t land for most. He implies that since his father is LeBron James, there are no repercussions for poor play.
Taking it a step further, he suggests that teammates who are critical should be subject to being cut.
Making the advice all the more hilarious was the fact that he tagged the wrong account, sending his message to a popular fan page instead.
Bronny James has struggled through his first summer league season, leading to even more criticism following his NBA Draft selection. The Lakers chose the USC guard with the 55th pick, a move that was immediately lambasted by fans.
Nepotism cries have only grown louder amid a terrible pro start that includes an 0-15 mark on three-point attempts.
Despite the slow start, Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick remains high on their second-round pick, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
“He’s a development player, that’s how we’re looking at Bronny,” he said in an interview with XM Radio. “Right now, what we’re looking for, is defensive ball pressure… We’re gonna develop his shot, we’re gonna develop his ball skills, he’s already got a great feel. He has a really good instinctive nature on the defensive end.”
“[Lou Dort’s] impact – you can’t get into your offense sometimes. The shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure…Bronny eventually will be that guy”
JJ Redick wants to see Bronny James focus on defense as he talks with @TermineRadio, Ryan McDonough, and @Jumpshot8. pic.twitter.com/hJ28D3J1Qp
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 13, 2024
We’ll see if he heeds Nick Young’s advice and plays looser in the games to come.