LeBron James has shared the status of his relationship with Jaylen Brown following comments the Boston Celtics guard made about Bronny James a couple of years ago.
On Sunday night (February 22), the LA Lakers lost to the Celtics 111 - 89 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and after the game, James was asked about Brown's season and what their relationship has "been like" over the years.
Despite losing many of their 2024 championship team — either due to injury or trades — the Celtics are currently second in the Eastern Conference standings, which James puts down to Brown's drive to want to prove the doubters wrong.
"I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they're going to have a down year because of, you know, obviously [Jason Tatum] being out. Them losing Jrue [Holiday]. Al [Horford], you know, leaves. [Kristaps] Porziņģis leaves," he explained. "Their whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped. And he uses that motivation to keep them afloat."
He added: "They're playing great basketball and it's because of him and the rest of those guys. He's taking that next step."
Responding to a question about his personal relationship with Brown, James said it "has been pretty respectful" for the most part, although, with a smirk on his face, he was quick to add: "Besides the shit he said about Bronny at Summer League…Other than that, we've been aight."
When the reporter said they’d be wondering if James was able to get past that, James responded: "You know, we'll be aight. We'll be aight. Yeah, we’ll be aight. I think he went on social media and said something about it. It's all good. Bronny got a long way to go, but that's another story."
In July 2024, during one of Bronny James' Summer League games in Las Vegas, Brown, who was sat court side with Angel Reese and Kysre Gondrezick, was caught on camera giving his not-so-favorable thoughts on LeBron's son's game.
"I don't think Bronny is a pro," Brown appeared to say to the women. Gondrezick seemingly replied: "I think he'll be on the G-league team for sure."
Brown apparently then said: "I don't think so; I think because of his name, he'll be on the Lakers."
Shortly after the clip went viral, Brown reposted it on X and wrote a caption where he saluted LeBron for having his son join him in the NBA and said that Bronny has the resources to become a successful player.
"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," he wrote.
Elsewhere during his interview on Sunday night, LeBron praised the Brown for playing "great basketball" and said he doesn’t understand why the Celtics guard's name isn’t being brought up more in MVP conversations.
"This whole MVP thing, I don't understand why his name is not getting talked about as well. Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season…It's a popularity contest sometimes, I'm telling you."
After being asked if he felt Brown should be MVP, James used the moment to take a jab at the voting process.
"I'mma be honest, I don't know the criteria of MVP anymore. I kinda stopped giving a damn about it a long time ago. I got my own personal issues about it. So, yeah, these guys will tell you why," he said, gesturing to his Lakers teammates in the locker room.
As far as Bronny James goes, the Los Angeles Lakers announced on February 9 that LeBron's son has been assigned to their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, following the team’s recent win over the Golden State Warriors.
The move is designed to give the 2024 second-round pick consistent minutes as part of his ongoing development.