“Rookie of The Year”: Bronny James’ Summer League High vs Hawks Can’t Keep Fans’ Sarcasm at Bay

Ever since Bronny James was drafted by the Lakers, he has been getting the superstar treatment from the league and especially the media. With him suiting up for almost every game of the ongoing Summer League, you might have seen more Bronny highlights on the internet than most lottery picks in this year’s draft. So naturally, the internet was left buzzing with sarcasm when pick #55 achieved his highest score in the Summer League so far in today’s game against the Hawks.

Yes, shooting lights out from the field for the first time this summer, Bronny finished today’s game with his personal best 12 points. And the kid found his groove early as he opened the game with two solid buckets without a miss and surpassed his previous Summer League high of 8 points in the first half by scoring 9 quick points before the second period even began.

Until today’s game against Atlanta, Bronny had not crossed the double-digit mark in the Summer League as his previous game-high came in a loss against the Rockets on Friday. What’s even more impressive is that the rookie was also highly efficient during his performance as he shot 5-of-11 from the field against the Hawks’ defense. With smooth mid-range shots and acrobatic layups, Bronny truly showcased his versatile skill set in today’s game.

But more importantly, his breakout performance helped the Lakers bag their first Summer League win this year as they beat the Hawks 87-86.

NBA World reacts to Bronny James’ dominant performance

As the third-highest scorer on his team today behind Colin Castleton (17) and Blake Hinson (14), Bronny helped his team break the Summer League curse. However, some fans took a sarcastic approach toward the rookie’s achievement as the internet was flooded with comments like “BRONNY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR”

Sure enough, it will take a miracle for Bronny to win that prestigious award as the Lakers have made it clear that he will be spending most of his rookie season in the developmental role, likely playing in the G League.

Meanwhile, some fans were just frustrated to see every Bronny James basket being posted as a highlight by most sports pages. While today’s game is still an acceptable scenario as it was a breakout performance by the rookie, many media outlets even posted Bronny’s only basket during the game against Boston a couple of days ago as he finished that game with an underwhelming 2 points.

Truly, not the best night for Bronny.

And then there’s another sarcastic netizen who even demanded the Lakers build a statue for Bronny after his 12-point performance.

Of course, statues are only built for those superstars who dedicate years to a franchise and achieve greatness in that uniform. While his father has a legitimate case for getting his statue in front of the Lakers arena someday, Bronny is still far, far away from that discussion.

Showing off his impressive shooting tonight, Bronny also hit two shots from deep range. However, one fan was not too pleased with his three-point shooting highlights as it took Bronny 5 games and 16 attempts to make his first three-pointer in the Summer League.

While most fans were skeptical despite Bronny’s decent outing, one optimistic fan saw it as a positive sign and claimed that the rookie would start showing NBA potential if the world gave him some time to develop.

Although it took Bronny 5 games to get his first double-digit game and first victory, people tend to forget that he is only 19YO.

Moreover, being a late second-round pick, Bronny so far has done much better than most players who preceded him. And hopefully, he will continue to build on this momentum and become a more consistent player going forward.