Austin Reaves’ return from an oblique strain in Game 5 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday meant that the Los Angeles Lakers had to make some changes to their rotations. The biggest change that occurred was that Bronny James went from the edge of coach JJ Redick’s rotation to not playing at all.
The 21-year-old son of LeBron James had appeared in every one of the Lakers’ previous 14 games, and at times, he made decent contributions in limited playing time. He had five points apiece in Game 3 and Game 4, and in Game 4, he also dropped four assists in 15 minutes.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, during a recent episode of his eponymous podcast, gave the younger James some props for hanging in throughout the season, despite the criticism the guard has gotten.
“Shout out to Bronny,” Green said. “So much criticism for him throughout his career. He’s been the 13th or 15th man all year and he’s playing great playoff minutes. He’s playing great playoff basketball. Gotta give him a lot of credit.
“How dope is it to see a man and his son playing in a playoff series in the NBA? That’s so fire. All the haters, keep hating. I love to see it.”
Whether one wants to argue that the younger James deserves or doesn’t deserve to be on an NBA roster, he has remained level-headed despite the environment he has always been in. He has been under a microscope over the last few years for obvious reasons, but he has maintained a decent work ethic and attitude.
He may never make it as an NBA rotation player purely on his own merits, but he can say he played in an NBA game with his father, and no one else can say that.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Draymond Green credits Bronny James for getting playoff minutes
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
