What a week it’s been for the James family. First, it was the younger son Bryce James who claimed the CIF State Division 1 title with Sierra Canyon with his father LeBron James, and family present. Then tonight, Bronny James had his moment. The highly polarizing rookie showed his predatory hunt for a bucket against Giannis Antetokounmpo and glided to one of his finest performances for the underwhelming Lakers team.

Despite the loss, though, for the 20-year-old, it seemed to be an important juncture. James broke through a cold offensive stretch. He scored a team-high 17 points while converting 70% of his attempts from the field. His work with the South Bay Lakers and outside the spotlights is slowly beginning to build his confidence.

And as he sees his younger brother prepare to start his college basketball journey, he offers a key piece of advice: to take nothing for granted.

“I’d say when we were younger the main thing I would like to push to him is just have fun, play your game, being confident in yourself. I think as I became a senior, he’s a senior now to just have that mindset of working. A lot of kids out there that want to be in my spot or his spot so can’t take that for granted. So yeah just keep working for yourself the main thing,” Bronny James said for his soon to be 18-year-old brother.

No matter how proficient or challenging his college journey with Arizona may be, Bryce James will always have the microscope on him. The conversations have already started. Most are wondering if he will become the second son to play with his father in the league. As the possibility grows closer, the pressure will mount on Bryce just as it did for Bronny James.

There is no way to contain the inevitable noise. Rather just one way to capitalize on it is propelling the 20-year-old to build his basketball rhythm once again.

The only way through for Bronny James is to keep working

LeBron James‘ feud with Stephen A. Smith is one of the several instances that could serve as a troubling distraction for Bronny James. He recently admitted that just like any human, criticism, and scrutiny do get to him. However, he decides to channel these emotions in the right direction.

“I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day,” Bronny told The Athletic.

With that, he has developed great focus. Naturally, it is helping him polish his game and sharpen his skills to an NBA level. He has self-confidence in his own abilities. At the end of the day, that is the only card he holds in his hand. The rest of the outcomes and branching stories are out of his power.

So he decides to not focus on them. Rather, he lets the ‘random people’ talk.

“Just put my head down and working. I feel like that’s the only thing I can control right now is going in every day and staying ready to play, staying ready to learn, getting work in after hours, early mornings, and stuff like that… Not really much I can of random people talking about me every day. Can’t really do much about that so I just go in the gym and put my head down and try to get better every day,” he said after his career-high performance against the Bucks.

The mindset led to his insane night. No other Lakers rookie aside from Magic Johnson boasted a stat line that the second-round pick did today. It may not be an astounding achievement. However, with how the media has dismissed his eligibility in the league, this performance should do well to earn some credibility in their eyes.

But even if it isn’t enough, James isn’t fazed. His aim is to keep getting better and working as hard as possible for himself. Bronny James will happily take being doubted throughout his career. But he won’t compromise on the things he deems to be necessary. That is to do everything that will enable him to become the best basketball player he can be.