Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown went viral in July 2024 after a video showed him appearing to cast doubts about Bronny James’ ability to thrive in the NBA.
And though Bronny’s father, LeBron James, did not publicly address Brown’s comments after the video went viral, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar recently made reference to it when he was asked about his relationship with the Celtics player.
Per Complex, James, 41, touched on his relationship with Brown, 29, following the Lakers’ 111 – 89 defeat to the Celtics at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday. James was asked to share his thoughts about Brown’s current form and the nature of their relationship.
The Celtics’ current roster looks nothing like their 2024 championship team, as some of their star players are injured or have been traded. Despite that, Brown and the Celtics are still going strong this season, as they now hold the second position in the Eastern Conference table.
“I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year because of, you know, obviously [Jason Tatum] being out. Them losing Jrue [Holiday]. Al [Horford], you know, leaves. [Kristaps] Porziņģis leaves,” James stated. “Their whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped. And he uses that motivation to keep them afloat.”
The future Hall of Famer also said that the Celtics are “playing great basketball and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taking that next step.”
James stated that his personal relationship with Brown has largely “been pretty respectful” when he was asked about it, Complex reported. James, on a lighter note, also referred to the comments the 29-year-old made about his son, Bronny.
“Besides the sh*t he said about Bronny at Summer League…Other than that, we’ve been aight,” the 41-year-old said.
James was further asked if he managed to move on after Brown made those comments about his son. “You know, we’ll be aight,” he responded.
“We’ll be aight. Yeah, we’ll be aight. I think he went on social media and said something about it. It’s all good. Bronny got a long way to go, but that’s another story.”
Brown made the news in July 2024 after he seemingly touched on the-then-Los Angeles-Lakers rookie’s basketball prowess during a conversation with WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick at an NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas, USA TODAY reported at the time. The pair was also seated courtside with then-WNBA rookie, Angel Reese.
And though the conversation between Brown and Gondrezick wasn’t audible in the viral video, lip-readers managed to decipher what was said. And the topic appeared to be about James’ son.
“I don’t think Bronny (James) is a pro,” Brown appeared to tell Gondrezick in the video. “I think he’ll be on the G-league team for sure,” Gondrezick replied. Brown subsequently replied saying, “I don’t think so, I think because of his name he’ll be on the Lakers.”
But Brown later retracted his comments in a post on X after the video made rounds. “It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity!” he quoted on the video. “Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth.”
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