Although Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James just had an uneven Summer League stint with his new team, former NBA player Brandon Jennings believes the youngster is already better than a lot of role players that played on championship teams.
Jennings sees former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova as one of them.
Bronny better than a lot of role players that played on championship teams in the NBA should I name Names
— Brandon Jennings (@Tuff__Crowd) July 25, 2024
Facts. He’s on the list of players.
If it’s facts I’m retweeting yall with a comment https://t.co/hogkOlDzIf
— Brandon Jennings (@Tuff__Crowd) July 25, 2024
Dellavedova won a ring with the Cavs in the 2016 NBA Finals after reaching that stage with Cleveland in 2015 but falling short of a title.
Regarding the 2015 team that fell short, Jennings believes that multiple players from that squad were “trash.”
Yes he is.
He got paid for running around chasing Steph in the finals and almost died. And they lost
He ain’t the only one from that Cavs team that was trash. https://t.co/vz3soFGjGJ
— Brandon Jennings (@Tuff__Crowd) July 25, 2024
While it’s unclear who Jennings is referencing besides Dellavedova, there are likely plenty of folks who disagree with his assessment. In the eyes of many, James is a very raw prospect who still needs to develop before having a legitimate role in the NBA.
In two games at this year’s California Classic — a Summer League event — James averaged just 3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 25.0 percent from the field and missing all of his 3-pointers.
In four Summer League appearances in Las Vegas, James was able to improve his numbers. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game, but he still shot just 35.0 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from deep.
The best part of James’ Summer League stint came during his final two games in Las Vegas, when he dropped a combined 25 points. Perhaps those performances are part of the reason why Jennings may be a bit higher on James than most.
This coming season, the 19-year-old and his father LeBron are going to become the first father-son duo to share the floor in NBA history.
The younger James may end up getting very little run for the Lakers and spending a good chunk of the season in the G League, but that hasn’t stopped people from talking about him and even placing bets on him to win Rookie of the Year honors in the NBA.
By no fault of his own, the younger James has been an attention magnet since the Lakers drafted him, a reality that seemingly rubbed some of his Summer League teammates the wrong way. The fact that Jennings is talking about him might just be further proof of the fact that he’s a hot name in the NBA world right now.
