Los Angeles Lakers associate head coach Nate McMillan is optimistic about what Bronny James can bring in his second NBA season.
“I love Bronny,” McMillan said on The Sports Shop recently. “Great young man and we expect him to possibly get some minutes this year.”
That’s no small task given the Lakers’ offseason moves. They added former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to a backcourt already featuring Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent.
Still, McMillan believes James has put himself in position after battling through adversity in his rookie year.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth from year one,” McMillan said. “He had, I thought, a really good Summer League this year. A young guy like that coming in with this type of pressure that he came into the league with last year was unbelievable.
“When we played in the Las Vegas Summer League last year and this year, his games were sold out to see him. The fanbase has really, I think, for the most part, been really supportive of him.”
Bronny’s second Summer League showed that progress, 14.2 points on 47.6 percent shooting, plus 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds. That’s a jump from last year’s 8.8 points on 35 percent shooting.
“He spent a lot of time in the G League this season and I really feel that helped him because when he came out into this Summer League… you could see the confidence,” McMillan said. “He was much more relaxed than he was last year. Everybody would have been as nervous as can be last season, but he was much more relaxed this season.”
Bronny’s G League stint saw him average 21.9 points on a 44/38/82 split, along with 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals in 11 games.
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