Dray reveals advice he gave Bronny in Warriors-Lakers preseason game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It’s no secret Warriors forward Draymond Green is close with the James family, and his appreciation for LeBron trickles down to the Los Angeles Lakers star’s son — and teammate — Bronny.
As someone who knows what it’s like to be under an intense microscope in the NBA, Green shared some guidance with Bronny James when the Warriors and Lakers faced off against each other this preseason.
“Playing against Bronny, especially the last game of the preseason, my only thing to Bronny is this: Brother, if you’re going to fail — and I actually said to him, hey man, if you’re going to fail, fail on your terms,” Green said on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show” with new co-host Baron Davis. “You know how to play basketball, and some of the time I’m watching you play, and you’re acting like you don’t know how to play basketball.
“The one thing I know you know how to do, is you know how to play basketball, bro. I’m like, hey man, just play your game. If you’re going to fail, fail because you fail playing like you know how to play. Don’t fail because you ain’t doing what you know how to do.”
It’s clear Green believes Bronny has the talent to make it in the league, despite many believing the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft earned a spot with the Lakers simply because his father is LeBron — arguably the greatest player to ever grace the court. Green doesn’t want Bronny to change anything about his game just because the world is watching.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game over 25 contests at USC. He shot just 36.6 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from 3-point range (60 total attempts) and 67.6 percent from the free throw line (34 total attempts).
LeBron’s career stats in the NBA don’t even need to be listed, and he added another accolade to his résumé Tuesday night when he and Bronny became the first father-son duo to play in a regular-season NBA game together, a moment Lakers center Anthony Davis said “means the world” to LeBron.
Despite some skepticism from NBA fans and analysts regarding Bronny’s skill set, the Warriors had the USC product on their draft board when they were on the clock at No. 52. But Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy and Co. passed on the 19-year-old guard to “respect the wishes” of the elder James, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported, citing sources.
Green appreciates that sentiment and believes it’s pretty cool to see Bronny and LeBron on the same team, even if that team could have been the Warriors.
“I think it’s great for the Warriors to say and do that, because the reality is they could have drafted Bronny, and I think after watching Steph and LeBron in the [Olympics], you probably look back on it like, dang, we probably should have tried to lure [LeBron] away,” Green said. “… I think number one, Bronny and LeBron playing together, it’s insane. Like anybody who’s hating on that, hate yourself.
“If you’re hating on that, hate yourself because there’s absolutely nothing to hate about with that.”
As Bronny navigates a tough and sometimes unfair NBA landscape, the younger James certainly has plenty of wisdom on his side in LeBron and Green.
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