Lakers' LeBron James: Bronny Uses Criticism as 'Motivation... He's Here for a Reason'

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James feels his son, Bronny, has continued to improve across his rookie year in the NBA, which is spurred in part by the 20-year-old's skeptics.

Following the Lakers' 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, James pointed to Bronny's interview with The Athletic's Joe Vardon and said his son "hears everything and uses it as motivation."

"But he's here for a reason and he showed that the other night," LeBron said.

The four-time MVP was referencing Bronny's 17-point effort in Los Angeles' 118-89 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. He came off the bench to shoot 7-of-10 from the floor and hauled in three rebounds while dishing out five assists.

No member of the 2024-25 rookie class has faced more scrutiny than Bronny. Even before the Lakers picked him 55th overall, fans debated whether he merited a second-round pick, and his performance hasn't exactly silenced the doubters.

The 6'2" guard has played a total of 135 minutes and averaged 2.3 points on 32.7 percent in his 23 appearances with the Lakers.

As the son of a future Hall of Famer and all-time great, the younger James is no stranger to the spotlight. His exploits on the court were being covered nationally when he was still just in middle school.

Having that experience doesn't necessarily make it easier for Bronny to ignore all of the noise, though.

"My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down and come to work and be positive every day,” he said to Vardon. "But sometimes it just, it fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I'm a f--king robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions."

James added the criticism is "fuel" for him to keep honing his craft.

With the Lakers looking to maintain their position in the top six of the Western Conference, Bronny's playing time probably won't increase much over the final stretch. On Saturday, he logged seven minutes and scored two points.

On the hole, however, the young playmaker has showcased enough to make you think he can carve out a long career in the NBA.