Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James was the center of attention at times during Summer League action in the NBA this offseason, and he even made headlines after one anonymous player from L.A.’s Summer League squad suggested that the spotlight surrounding James caused issues for other members of the team.
While that claim has been disputed, there’s no denying that there was plenty of attention on the youngster, and fellow guard Kyle Mangas — who’s currently with the Indiana Pacers on an Exhibit 10 deal but was with the Lakers for Summer League — recently shared a story detailing just how many eyeballs were on James.
“He’s a super nice guy, he’s quiet, he’s pretty laid back,” Mangas said of James. “He’s a hard worker.”
Mangas continued.
“There’s so much media surrounding him,” Mangas said. “We would get off the bus at our hotel, and there’d be 250 people waiting for him to get off just to film and walk into the hotel. You’ve got to feel for a kid like that, there’s just a lot of pressure and publicity, and that’s hard to get away from sometimes. [I] think he handled it pretty well from what I saw.”
Due to an ankle injury, Mangas played in just one Summer League game with the Lakers. He’s now looking to make the most of his opportunity with the Pacers and prove that he belongs at the NBA level.
James, meanwhile, is in a unique situation as the son of one of the greatest players in NBA history. As the No. 55 overall pick in this year’s draft, he’s a raw prospect who will likely need some time to grow before having a consistent role at the NBA level. The 19-year-old is expected to spend a lot of time in the G League this coming season.
But those factors aren’t going to take away from the fact that he is LeBron James’ son, so he will have to get used to being in the spotlight. If and when he and his father take the floor together for the Lakers this coming season, they’ll become the first father-son duo to do so in NBA history.
The younger James had his moments during Summer League, and the hope is certainly that he will be able to build off that. Meanwhile, the Lakers are trying to return to the NBA title conversation after taking an early exit from the playoffs in the 2023-24 season.
