It's Time to Relax About Los Angeles Lakers' Rookie Bronny James

The intense scrutiny of Bronny James needs to relax as he starts his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) competes against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

When the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny James with the No. 55 overall pick, it came with the knowledge that the media coverage of LeBron James' son would be insane.

Heading into Summer League, the dream was that James would instantly break out and look the part of a potential steal. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

James has struggled offensively in a big way throughout Summer League, although his last game was his best. In the last outing with the Lakers, James scored 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

Due to his relatively poor performance, fans and the media have been ripping into him. He is already being called a "bust," among many other things.

While he was always going to catch criticism when he fails, simply because he's LeBron's son, the younger James doesn't deserve all of the negativity that has come his way. He's still a very young player with only one year of college basketball experience.

Add in the fact that his college season came on the heels of going into cardiac arrest during the offseason and it's even more understandable that he's starting slower.

However, there is a viral statistic that has come out that should quiet the hate. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown actually got off to a worse start in Summer League than James has so far.

Turns out Jaylen Brown had a worse start to Summer League than Bronny 🤔 pic.twitter.com/WmWdIOehbM

— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) July 18, 2024

Not every rookie is going to come in and dominate the Summer League. James also wasn't a first-round pick. He was a late second-round selection.

Los Angeles did not expect James to come in and dominate right off the bat. He's a project that the team is excited to develop over the next few years.

One area that James has already excelled in is on the defensive side of the ball. He's a tenacious defender and has even been compared to Lugentz Dort, one of the more hard-nosed defenders in the NBA.

This is not an article stating that James is going to be a star in the future. Far from it, he might end up being a bust. It's simply a statement that the criticism needs to calm down.

Should James continue to struggle for the next couple of years, the bust comments can resume. Until then, no one should make any kind of final judgement on the rookie guard.

As for James, gone are the days of being a viral young star beginning his college career and killing it in the NIL market. He may have been the No. 1 ranked college basketball NIL athlete with a $3.2 million valuation, but now he has to prove that he belongs in the NBA.