Jaylen Brown had a game-high 32 points, and with the race for MVP heating up as he’s been impressively shouldering the load of a Jayson Tatum-less Celtics, James was asked about his relationship with him. But first, King James brought up something from a few years ago.
“Our relationship has been pretty respectful,” James begins. “Besides the sh-t he said about Bronny at Summer League. But other than that, we’ve been alright. I think he went online and said something about it, but it’s all good. But Bronny’s got a long way to go, but that’s another story.”
James smiled through the answer, but it stems from an awkward moment in a summer league game from 2024. Brown was sitting courtside with then-girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese and appeared to mouth, “I don’t think Bronny is a pro” and that his roster spot on the Lakers is purely because of nepotism.
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The clip quickly went viral, and as Bron said, Brown did try to clear up his comments on Twitter, writing, “It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity! Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth.”
James is looking past that and can still see what Brown’s done on a near-unrecognizable Celtics team (sans Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis) from their 2024 championship win, and where he stands in the MVP race.
“JB is playing great basketball,” he said. “This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name isn’t getting talked about as well. Like nobody gave him a shot at the start of the season. And he’s averaging, what, just under 30 [points]? Yeah, it’s a popularity contest sometimes.”
James’ greatness was also on display during the game, where he made history as the first player to reach 43,000 regular-season points.
See social media reaction to James addressing the comments head-on below.