Lakers' Bronny James Looks Like Completely Different Player for LA

Second-year Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James entered the NBA offseason as a completely new player, with significantly more confidence on the court.

James was drafted in the second round last summer by the Lakers, though he only made spot cameos with Los Angeles. Instead, he spent most of his time with the G League team, getting repetitions among other NBA-caliber talent.

He faced intense scrutiny as the son of LeBron James, arguably the greatest player of all time, and was criticized by the national media for allegedly being a product of nepotism.

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In Las Vegas this summer, Bronny James proved his critics wrong and showed a ton of growth on the court, which was noticed by Lakers' Summer League coach Lindsey Harding.

“He’s been great,” Harding told the media, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com “Having his time in the G League, getting more and more confidence and then coming here and taking more minutes and responsibility on his shoulders."

During the showcase games, James averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds over his 24.3 minutes per outing.

"Handling the ball much more than he has in the past and making those decisions and reads for us, he’s taken that role on as a leader, that was also part of his growth," Harding said.

"And then on the defensive end, where he had those moments where he can really pressure (the ball), pick up full court, be disruptive," Harding added. "That’s something where he can really have an immediate impact for our team this season.”

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He shot an impressive 35.3% from three and guarded the opposing team's best player with energy and intensity.

With a Lakers team lacking defensive guards, James could break into the rotation and eat into Gabe Vincent's minutes.

Amid all of the scrutiny, he is proving his long list of doubters wrong and showing his true potential on the basketball court.

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