“Kid has the clutch gene": Skip Bayless lavishes immense praise on Bronny James after Lakers' rookie knocks down clutch 3-pointer
After nine points in the first half, Bronny James couldn’t add to his tally in the third quarter. He missed both of his attempts, including an open 3-pointer. The LA Lakers’ second-round pick remained confident in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks despite losing his shooting touch.
LA lost the third period 31-19 and trailed 72-63 leading into the fourth quarter. The Lakers’ defense stepped up and their offense did enough to methodically chase down the Hawks. James’ triple with 3:47 left in the game tied the contest 79-79.
Skip Bayless, a longtime LeBron James critic, promptly reacted to Bronny James’ clutch hit from deep:
“That corner 3 to tie was the best-looking shot Bronny has shot all Summer League. I'm telling you, kid has the clutch gene.”
Skip Bayless’ comments likely surprised most basketball fans. For years, he has been ripping “King James” for the four-time MVP for having no “clutch gene.” Now, he’s praising the NBA superstar’s son for nailing a shot in a Summer League game.
Bronny James nearly became the goat in the succeeding sequences. Following his 3-pointer, he committed a defensive 3-second error that allowed the Hawks to convert a free throw. In the next possession, the former USC guard missed a four-foot floater that would have given the LA Lakers the lead. Fortunately for them, Colin Castleton grabbed the rebound off the miss for a putback shot.
Castleton and Maxwell Lewis combined down the stretch to eventually drag the Lakers to their first Summer League win.
Skip Bayless recently took a dig at Bronny James
Bronny James had four points, two rebounds and two assists in his California Classic debut against the Sacramento Kings. Many wanted an immediate follow-up game from the second-round pick after the underwhelming showing. James, however, was in street clothes when the Lakers took on the Golden State Warriors.
James Jr. was held out for knee swelling. It didn’t take long for Skip Bayless to take a shot at the youngster for sitting out:
(17:48 mark)
“Father has the greatest pair of knees in the history of professional basketball, and son now has some swelling after his first Summer League game?”
Bayless did concede that the son is not the father but he was nonetheless surprised and couldn’t resist taking a dig at the rookie. The regular season hasn’t started yet and the longtime sports talk show host already had some interesting comments about Bronny James. Fans will be interested to see how things will unfold once the season gets underway.