“It’s the first game. We’ve had 3 practices in our building. Today makes 4. I think for Bronny, for everybody, we want to continue to try to get better and better.” Before the Timberwolves game, LeBron James may have done his part in lowering expectations for his son. Being his first time going up against a court of pros, after facing the crop of the Summer League, the ideal hope shouldn’t be to rely on a rookie to carry his debut game. As it turns out, however, it WAS a rookie who carried the Lakers, a feat that may not bode well for Bronny.

After the Lakers-Timberwolves game, both LeBron James and Bronny ended up handing out their praise to Dalton Knecht. The 19-year-old was certainly in awe of his teammate, as he stated, “Saw a lot of great things. He’s an amazing player. I’ve been working with him for over two months now and, you know, I love that guy. So, you know, he’s only keep getting better for me.”

The NBA all-time lead scorer wasn’t as articulate in his remarks to Jovan Buha, simply stating, “He’s a pro. I mean, he’s ready to go now.” However, this brief statement may be enough. It is no secret that Bronny has struggled to convince any fan that he is up to the pro-level. In fact, he was even a bit fortunate to get a spot on an NBA roster after only being able to average 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during his sole season at USC.

When the time came to prove himself in the Summer League in Las Vegas, he only scored 8.8 points over 4 games, accumulated through 14-40 (35%) field goals, and 3-19 (15.8%). While he did make all 4-4 (100.0%) free throws, the attempts in itself were low.

Jaylen Brown, who was attending one of the games alongside WNBA stars Angel Reese and Kysre Gondrezick, even went viral for turning to his companions and reportedly saying, “I don’t think Bronny (James) is a pro.” While he would later defend his assumed remark on X, the same wouldn’t have gone so viral if others also hadn’t believed that Bronny still had a long way to go.

Meanwhile, Dalton Knecht is not done establishing himself as the primary rookie on the Lakers. After securing memorable stats in the Summer League, he made 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists against the Wolves. While his 2-7 three-pointers indicate room for improvement, the combination of the far-away shots and his 7-13 field goals helped him tie with Austin Reaves as the lead scorers from the Lakers.

Therefore, even though the game was lost, 124-107, LeBron James seems confident enough now to call Dalton Knecht a pro. While the same may not be true for Bronny James, LeBron is still holding on strings of hope that his eldest will reach pro level soon.

“He’s got better and better every day”: LeBron James indirectly hands out ‘adjustment’ advice to Bronny after debut

Continuing his remarks after the Lakers-Timberwolves game, LeBron James claimed that it was definitely “great” to see his eldest make his debut. After all, it was a sight that the 39-year-old himself envisioned for quite some years. With Bronny only making 2 points through 1-6 field goals and 0-1 three-pointers, however, Papa James may want his eldest son to learn more. And there is no better way of learning than experiencing and playing more games alongside his long-standing veteran teammates.

“Every rank that you climb is always an adjustment to get used to it,” LeBron clarified. “So, when he went to middle school to high school to USC and now to the pros, it’s always an adjustment he makes. So, with more and more time, he’s on the floor with pros, the speed, the cadence, and all those things, you get better and better. And you’ve got to (remember) that he lost pretty much almost a third of a season last year because of the condition, but he’s got better and better every day. He’s continued to put the work in.”

Bronny himself revealed receiving some advice from Dad. However, he wasn’t willing to go into detail regarding it, only stating, “Yeah, there was some stuff we talked about. I would rather not go into detail, but just support and, ‘Keep working hard, keep being confident in yourself.’” With the pre-season set to go on for a few more weeks, Bronny has a limited time frame to make the case for why he deserves to be on the main squad, and not be shifted to the G-League.

While moving to the South Bay Lakers might sound like a really big step down, it actually isn’t. The LA side recently hired Zach Guthrie to kick-start and further bolster their ‘player development’ initiative. With JJ Redick at the helm, and via all his interviews, one thing is extremely clear- he expects his younger stars to make inroads into the first team, eventually. Thoughts?

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.