Bronny James might not have a lot of defenders in sports media or outside the NBA, but he has an important supporter in Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
Throughout his entire rookie season in the NBA, the younger James has dealt with unprecedented scrutiny and criticism for a second-round draft pick. Stephen A. Smith pleaded with LeBron to end his son’s NBA career before giving it a fair chance to get started. And countless fans and media members have considered Bronny’s NBA opportunity as nothing more than an example of nepotism.
Thursday night, Bronny silenced some of his critics, at least for a moment, when he led the Lakers in points and assists, albeit in a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. But the No. 55 pick scoring 17 in a game with five assists and three rebounds during his rookie season is still notable. And after the game, Redick praised Bronny, not just for his play on the court, but for his ability to handle the scrutiny off it.
JJ Redick praised Bronny and the James family for how they have dealt with all the noise surrounding him and maintains his confidence he’ll develop into an NBA player: pic.twitter.com/rGY4JvnEXg
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) March 21, 2025
“I saw some video interviews that he did at the combine in May,” Redick recalled. “And obviously I was not the Lakers coach, just an NBA analyst and podcaster at the time. And I texted Bron. I was like, ‘Man, Bronny has his head on straight. He gets it.’
“Since day one, I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is and to deal with frankly, bullsh*t because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act. Says a lot about him, says a lot about that family and the way that LeBron and Savannah have raised him.”
LeBron, however, also deserves at least some of the blame for all the “bullsh*t” Bronny has faced this season. It was LeBron who orchestrated Bronny to the Lakers so they could be the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game together. It was LeBron who claimed Bronny was already better than some NBA players when he was still in high school. It was LeBron who confronted Stephen A. Smith during a Lakers game over his criticisms of Bronny.
Still, no second round NBA draft pick has faced the scrutiny that Bronny James has had to endure during his rookie season. He was the first No. 55 pick in NBA history to enter the league with any semblance of expectations. And he was certainly the first No. 55 pick in NBA history to be debated about on every sports show.
Earlier this week, Bronny admitted he sees and hears all the noise or “bullsh*t” as Redick puts it, but claims he’s able to use it as fuel. Thursday night may have been a sign that it’s working.
