Bronny James got into a groove on Wednesday night.
The Lakers rookie scored 12 points — his highest in the NBA Summer League yet — shooting 5 of 11 from the field in an 87-86 win over the Hawks.
James, 19, made 2 of 5 shots from beyond the 3-point arc (his first two with the Lakers), as he reached double-digits for the first time as a professional.
In 24 minutes of action, James added one assist, one rebound and one steal.
“Just tried to forget about all the shots I missed, forget all the games we lost,” he told ESPN after the win in an on-court interview. “Just come out and play my game and try to do my best every time I come out on the court.”
The son of LeBron James started the fourth quarter on the bench, but entered with 5:26 left in the game.
A little less than two minutes later, Bronny hit his biggest shot of the game, nailing a 3-pointer to tie the proceedings at 79 apiece.
That came two quarters after he nailed the first 3-pointer of his career, something he said he was excited about after the one-point win.
“Really good, felt really good,” James said of his first trey with a big smile.
James, who had totaled just 15 points in three summer league games, has been facing criticism from pundits and fans alike early in his pro career, thanks in no small part to his connection to one of the NBA’s all-time great.
Rachel Nichols, however, on FS1’s “Undisputed” on Wednesday said the negativity the younger James has gotten thus far is “totally unfair,” pointing to the fact that No. 2 overall draft pick Alex Sarr had a zero-point clunker on 0-for-15 shooting on Tuesday night.
“People are looking at him as if he’s a top-10 pick,” the NBA reporter said. “He’s not a top-10 pick, he’s a No. 55 pick. The expectations for a No. 55 pick should largely that you’re headed to the G League and may get some games up in the NBA. Last year’s No. 55 pick played four total minutes in the NBA.
“To evaluate Bronny next to top-10 picks versus what other guys at No. 55 have done is totally unfair.”
The Lakers next play the Hawks on Wednesday night.