Stephen A. Smith, often quick to criticize members of the James family, recently made some uncharacteristic remarks. He lauded LeBron James‘ eldest son, Bronny James, for his breakout performance—a career-high 30 points—during his first G-League road game for the South Bay Lakers.
In the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith discussed various current topics, including his honest reaction to Bronny James’ impressive performance. Pleading to Bronny, Smith advised the young star to emulate his father, if he wants to have a long and fulfilling career in the NBA.
People gonna hate no matter what, but the legitimacy of their argument is gonna dissipate drastically once you continue to show out like that. … Congratulations to Bronny, but keep it up. It’s a marathon, baby. It ain’t a sprint. And nobody is in a better position to know that than your father, who is on the Mount Rushmore of basketball, one of the all-time greats. He’s never cheated the game, and that brother works his tail off to improve all the time. Emulate Pops to the best of your ability, and you’ll be just fine.
Addressing Bronny James directly, Stephen A. Smith said
Before Bronny James‘ 30-point game, his previous career high performance was in his game against the San Diego Clippers on December 7, 2024, where he scored 16 points in just 22 minutes. In the span of a week, he has nearly doubled his career-high numbers.
LeBron James shares words of wisdom with son Bronny after his breakout game
LeBron James, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, recently celebrated a proud father-son moment when his eldest son, Bronny James, delivered an impressive 30-point career high performance. On the occasion of achieving this significant milestone, King James shared some heartfelt words of encouragement for his son.
Just keep stacking the days, keep putting in the work, the work always prevails at the end of the day. It’s just great to see him getting back to the flow, getting back to his game. I love his aggressiveness; he was aggressive from the beginning in both games.
LeBron James told the reporters
LeBron James talks about his return to the court, how he stayed engaged during his time away from the team, and his thoughts on Bronny’s recent standout performance with the South Bay Lakers. pic.twitter.com/vqS4Ypw8ii
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 16, 2024
After the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies, LeBron confirmed during a post-game interview that he had watched both of Bronny’s games, despite not being able to be courtside to cheer him on.
Despite the South Bay Lakers’ 106-100 loss to the Valley Suns, Bronny James had a spectacular night, scoring 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 from the three-point line. In addition, he logged three rebounds, two assists, along with a steal and a block.
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