Getty
Los Angeles Lakers Lebron James, Bronny James and Rui Hachimura on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
Veteran Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has still not forgotten Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown’s slight against his son, Bronny James.
Brown was infamously caught on camera telling WNBA players Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese that he didn’t think Bronny was “a pro” during a 2024 Summer League game, before Bronny’s rookie season. Subsequently, Brown wrote on X that Bronny had “all the tools” to succeed in the NBA, attempting to sugarcoat his earlier remarks.
After the Lakers suffered a 111-89 blowout loss to the Celtics on Sunday, James addressed Brown’s criticism of his son from a few years ago.
“Our relationship has been pretty respectful, besides the sh*t he said about Bronny in Summer League,” James said, via Celtics on CLNS.
“But other than that, we’ve been all right.”
LeBron James Praises Jalyen Brown
When asked whether he had addressed the issue with Brown, James reiterated that “it’s all good” between him and the Celtics star.
“We’ll be all right. We’ll be alright,” James said with a smile.
“I think he went on social media and said something about it — it’s all good. Bronny has a long way to go, but that’s another story.”
James then proceeded to praise Jaylen Brown for almost singlehandedly carrying the Celtics to the No.2 seed in the East with his strong play this season. In Sunday’s win, Brown dropped 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to further his MVP case.
“JB is doing [great]. S—, he’s playing great basketball, man,” James said of Brown.
Lakers Swept By Celtics
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer can’t fathom why Brown isn’t viewed as one of the leading candidates to win MVP, citing the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham all had shorter odds to win the award.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James said of Brown, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
Further to James’ point, it was widely assumed that the Celtics would endure a gap year this season after Jayson Tatum sustained an Achilles injury during last year’s playoffs. However, the C’s have shockingly maintained their status quo as one of the best teams in the East, thanks largely to Brown’s career-best season.
“I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year,” James said of the Celtics.
“The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”
The Celtics completed the season sweep of the Lakers on Monday, adding to their 126-105 win over their archrivals in early December. Between the two games, the Celtics beat the Lakers by an average margin of 21.5 points.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Lakers
Loading more stories