This month’s NBA summer league was an overall disappointment for the Los Angeles Lakers. They went 1-4 in the main Las Vegas summer league, and incoming second-year sharpshooter Dalton Knecht struggled throughout both the main summer league and the California Classic with his shooting.
In addition, Darius Bazley, a forward who has five years of NBA history, played some impressive basketball on both ends of the floor, but he suffered a leg injury in the Lakers’ penultimate summer league game.
But while Bronny James struggled offensively early on, he finished strong. He shot the ball well and made an impact defensively, and overall, he looked a lot more comfortable on the court than he did several months ago.
Summer league coach Lindsey Harding was impressed with how the 20-year-old did this month, per NBA.com.
“He’s been great,” said Harding. “Having his time in the G League, getting more and more confidence and then coming here and taking more minutes and responsibility on his shoulders. Handling the ball much more than he has in the past and making those decisions and reads for us, he’s taken that role on as a leader, that was also part of his growth. And then on the defensive end, where he had those moments where he can really pressure (the ball), pick up full court, be disruptive. That’s something where he can really have an immediate impact for our team this season.”
In an interview with Mike Trudell, James talked about his growth going back to his time in the G League just a few months ago.
“I definitely think those G League reps were amazing for me to be comfortable in my game, so that’s helped for me to be out there for an extended period of time,” added Bronny. “My confidence has grown from last year, throughout the G League season and some NBA games. It’s been a slow progression, but it’s working out so far. “
The guard also talked about how he’s working on his ability to be a lead guard, even though he will likely have to play as a 2-guard if he ever makes it to the NBA.
“Keeping working on my game on ball, all the stuff off ball will just flow,” he said. “But if I’m consistently confident in bringing the ball up, knowing my role and being able to play the 1 when it’s needed, I think I’ll be good. Because I don’t really have any problem playing off the ball if I need to. So just getting those reps over and over again of me having the ball in my hand most of the time is really good for my development.”
In four games at the main summer league, James ended up averaging 14.3 points on 47.6% field-goal shooting, 3.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals a game. His 3-point shooting was iffy and he turned the ball over a little too much, but he gave plenty of people continued hope that he can eventually become a rotation player at the NBA level.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Bronny James on his development: ‘My confidence has grown’
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
