Bronny James temporarily silenced a lot of his critics with a strong performance in the Summer League on Thursday night, and Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren was among those who were happy for the rookie.
James helped lead the Lakers to a 93-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Bronny scored 13 points on a solid 5-of-10 from the field and shook off his long-range shooting slump with an impressive step-back three-pointer in crunch time.
After the game, Holmgren took to social media and noted that Bronny “looked like a pro.”

Looked like a pro
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) July 19, 2024
The comment from Holmgren was not random. Earlier in the week, a video went viral that appeared to show Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown telling his girlfriend that he does not think Bronny is a pro-caliber player. Brown addressed the video with a post on X, though he did not deny the lip readers’ interpretation.
Bronny obviously has a long way to go, but the performance on Thursday should help alleviate some of the early pressure the 19-year-old may have felt. Holmgren and others were happy to see it.