Chet Holmgren Says Bronny James 'Looked Like a Pro,' Appears to Shade Jaylen Brown

In what may be a dig at a recent viral video featuring Jaylen Brown, Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren was impressed by Bronny James' performance in Thursday's summer league win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Holmgren wrote on X that James "looked like a pro" with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the Los Angeles Lakers' 93-89 win.

In a video that went viral earlier this week from the Celtics-Lakers game in Las Vegas, Brown appeared to say, "I don't think Bronny is a pro."

Brown issued a response to the video on X in which he didn't deny the comment, but wrote he "has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth."

Based on James' performance in the last two games, Brown's comment may have served as some form of motivation. The 19-year-old has combined for 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, three two blocks and one steal in his last two outings.

James scored a total of a 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting with eight rebounds, two steals and one assist in his first two Vegas summer league games.

It's likely going to take time for James to develop his game to be a regular NBA role player. He was the 55th pick in the 2024 draft, so any notion that he was immediately going to step in was dramatically overestimating where he's at right now.

The most encouraging part of James' performance over the past two games has been his shooting touch. He struggled as a scorer in college with a 36.6 field-goal percentage in 25 games at USC.

If James has found something with his shooting form and corrected it already, he may not have to wait long before getting regular minutes in the Lakers rotation when the 2024-25 NBA season starts.