Jaylen Brown has had an eventful summer to say the least. He won his first championship and the NBA Finals MVP award with the Celtics a month ago, but more recently got left off of Team USA in favor of his teammate, Derrick White, as the replacement choice for Kawhi Leonard. Brown expressed his frustration with that decision, believing he was excluded because he’s not a Nike athlete.
While Team USA is in Abu Dhabi continuing to ramp up for the Paris Olympics, Brown made the trip out to Las Vegas to watch the Celtics in Summer League action, popping up courtside at Celtics-Lakers alongside girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick and Angel Reese. During the game, cameras showed the trio talking about the game at the exact wrong time for Brown, as he appeared to say, “I don’t think Bronny’s a pro.”
Jaylen Brown, Kysre Gondrezick & Angel Reese are courtside in Vegas tonight pic.twitter.com/8Dfmhtszqw
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) July 16, 2024
Gondrezick responds that he’ll probably be on the G League team, and Brown seems to doubt that because of his name. It’s all a very fair conversation to have at a basketball game with your friends, but certainly not one you want to end up on national TV.
Naturally, the clip went viral and prompted a response in the early morning from Brown on Twitter, who said Bronny being on the same team as LeBron was “a flex” and said he’s excited to watch his growth.
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 https://t.co/qO4muFSvrn
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 16, 2024
The truth is, Brown isn’t wrong about Bronny right now. He struggled mightily in Summer League, particularly shooting the ball, and that’s going to be a critical skill for him if he’s going to be able to get on the floor in the NBA. In fairness to James, Summer League basketball is about the worst place for him to show the things he’s actually supposed to be good at. Being a good connective piece and quality team defender isn’t something that pops in the chaos of Summer League, where players who thrive in structure almost always look worse than they are. Even so, it’s certainly fair to question whether Bronny is ready right now to contribute to the Lakers, and he likely will need to make some trips to the G League to get some reps and develop and sharpen the skills he’ll need to be a player in the league.
As for Brown, he might’ve learned why you sometimes see celebrities finding ways to cover their mouths while talking courtside, because while it was a totally normal conversation to have at a game, it’s one that also will cause quite an uproar if it breaks contain and goes public.