Lakers fan Collin Morikawa challenges Bronny James over NBA draft - “Prove yourself”
Collin Morikawa is a Los Angeles Lakers fan. The LA native was following the team's offseason closely, so he knew when they drafted Bronny James, the son of LeBron James. The superstar forward is a free agent but is expected to return to the Lakers to play with his son.
Morikawa said he was doing an ice-cold plunge and then got in the sauna. Not long after, he checks his phone and sees that James was selected in the second round with the 55th overall pick.
He said on The Smylie Show:
"I think I have mixed reviews. I'm very happy for JJ Reddick, I got to know JJ a little bit. He's the best. He's so good. So I'm excited for him... So I'm excited to see where it goes. Obviously, he had the health scare so I think that took him out a little bit to see what his full potential was in college. But it's interesting, like what, he was a 55th draft pick, you're kind of in that zone where, like, now you got to go prove yourself." [05:00]
Morikawa said he grew up as a huge Kobe Bryant fan and has come to know Pau Gasol as well. He said he's a huge fan of the team and the Los Angeles Dodgers, adding that watching the Lakers was "everything" to him when he was young.
Now, he wants to see Bronny James prove himself. There's no doubt that his being the son of a superstar aided his pursuit of making it to the NBA, but Collin Morikawa wants to see him earn what he's been given.
Collin Morikawa details reason behind Bronny James pick
Collin Morikawa is looking forward to seeing Bronny James' best efforts on the basketball court. He believes a big reason the USC product was even drafted was to ensure LeBron James would come back to the Lakers. He opted out of his contract to sign a new one, and Morikawa thinks the Lakers wanted some extra incentive.
He said on The Smylie Show:
"Obviously he wants to play with Bronny. I think it was like a play for the Lakers to keep LeBron. Because he wants to play with him. And if I was another team... just held him like by a little string right here and be like, hey LeBron, come on. So who knows what we're going to see." [06:00]
He went on to say that the Lakers, his favorite team, need a full reset. The Western Conference is deep and James is aging and needs more stars around him to win. That puts Collin Morikawa's favorite team in a unique spot, and the PGA Tour player will be watching intently this season to see what happens.