Draymond Green Comes to Aid of Lakers' Bronny James Following Anonymous Criticism

Matt Levine | Jul 27, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers' decision to draft guard Bronny James out of USC has received a lot of criticism, both fair and unfair. While James struggled during his first season with the Trojans, he did show strong defensive abilities and instincts.

James played in the Summer League with the Lakers, putting up mixed numbers. He saw all sorts of media attention and coverage, apparently much to the dislike of some people around him.

Recently, The US Sun reported that an anonymous member of the Lakers summer league roster spoke about James and how he was unfairly given preference. This came while in the report that players were "frustrated" with the attention that he was getting.

"I mean, he was treated as someone apart, not like all of us, and that is very annoying as we didn’t feel any chemistry in this group of players," the player said."

James did receive more playing time and got a ton of attention but it was to be expected. The Lakers wanted to see how he would perform against the competition and being the son of LeBron James, the focus was always going to be on him.

Following this report, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green let his feelings be known about the situation. The out-spoken star has never been shy about letting his feelings be known and took full advantage of this.

Green came to the aid of James via his Instagram in a story post. He called out the quote and pointed out that players who are drafted tend to get more playing time during the summer games.

"Any player that is actually drafted will be showcased and favored more in summer league.... These things are getting dumber and dumber."

Draymond Green on the special treatment rumor surrounding Bronny James: "Any player that is actually drafted will be showcased and favored more in summer league... These things are getting dumber and dumber." pic.twitter.com/tsNUHABfis

— Kit Espina (@KeithEspino22) July 27, 2024

As James continues his NBA career, these are the types of stories that he will have to deal with. However, the young guard has shown poise through it all and hasn't allowed it to get him down.

His game is a work in progress but the Lakers are expected to be patient with him moving forward. They understand that it may take some time for him to develop but that he could end up becoming an impactful member of the team once he gets more reps.

More Lakers: Lakers' LeBron James Helps Usher In Start of 2024 Paris Olympics