LeBron James hasn’t forgotten that one clip of Jaylen Brown.
The Los Angeles Lakers star was asked about his relationship with Brown on Sunday night, shortly after L.A.’s 111-89 loss to the Boston Celtics. While he didn’t have anything bad to say, he did reference a moment from a Summer League game a few years ago when Brown was caught criticizing James’ eldest son, and current Lakers player, Bronny James.
“Our relationship has been pretty respectful,” James said. “Besides that s**t he said about Bronny at Summer League, but other than that, we’ve been alright.
“I think he went on social media and said something about it. It’s all good.”
Though James was joking a bit, he was referencing an old clip from an NBA Summer League game in 2024 in which Brown told Angel Reese and Kysre Gondrezick that “I don’t think Bronny is a pro.”
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Brown actually went on social media soon after and tried to clean up those comments.
That all took place before Bronny’s first real NBA game. The Lakers selected him with the No. 55 overall pick in the draft that summer, and he ended up playing in 27 games last season while spending time with the Lakers’ G League affiliate.
He’s been doing the same thing this season, too. Bronny has averaged 2.2 points and 1.2 assists in 29 appearances with the Lakers this season while playing 7.3 minutes per game. In six games with the South Bay Lakers, he’s averaged 15.5 points and 5.2 assists.
Bronny did not play in the Lakers’ loss Sunday night. Luka Dončić led the way with 25 points and five rebounds, and James added 20 points and five assists while shooting 1-of-5 from the 3-point line.
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Brown led the Celtics with 32 points and eight rebounds in the win, which pushed them to 37-19 on the season. Brown has averaged 29.2 points and seven rebounds per game this season and is shooting nearly 49% from the field.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James said. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season.”
Though James admitted that Bronny has a ways to go in his development in the league, and he wasn’t that serious about it Sunday night, he’s clearly not going to forget those who have criticized his son in the past — even if it was years ago.