‘Utterly embarrassed’ – Bronny James gets into it with fan next to bemused Luka Doncic before hitting NBA first
Luka Doncic was all anybody wanted to talk about as the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Clippers. The superstar’s arrival from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis and a first-round pick sent shockwaves through the NBA. LeBron James and son Bronny join Doncic on the bench Doncic was in town to watch the Lakers win 122-97 on Tuesday – the first game since his arrival. Bronny James did his best to steal the limelight — on and off the court. LeBron’s eldest son was on the bench to start and sat next to five-time All-Star Doncic, who is recovering from a calf injury. The rookie got into it with a fan during the first quarter as cameras caught him in a back-and-forth as his dad was on court. Doncic looked bemused for the whole exchange, grinning and looking between Bronny and the supporter. Fans couldn’t tell if he was loving the exchange or already ‘plotting his exit from LA.’ “Luka is the guy at the party who just wants to go home,” wrote one. “Luka still shell shocked lmao,” added a second. “Utterly embarrassed,” declared a third. Bronny ultimately had the last laugh as he broke new ground in his fledgling NBA career. View Tweet: https://t.co/JH2nIaq6UQ The 20-year-old drained what he will hope is the first of many 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Dad LeBron has over 2,500 and is looking forward to working with Doncic. But he admitted that seeing his Davis leave was tough to swallow after a FaceTime confirmed the stunning news. “Just knowing that he was going to be gone, that was very, very difficult. Very challenging,” he said. “I could see how in shock he was, obviously. And he probably saw it from my face as well.” “Guys are going to feel a certain way,” head coach JJ Redick said pregame. “And there’s a grieving process. “There’s an excitement and a rebirth process. There’s all of these things and those things take time. Doncic admits he is still stunned by the shock tradeGetty “It’s not, we’re not going to wave a magic wand and say, ‘Ah, we’re good today.’ Like it takes time. The important thing is that the mission has not changed and how we go about doing that mission has not changed.” Doncic is set to take part in a scrimmage on Wednesday and could make his debut against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. “It’s going to be special,” LeBron said. “We’re gonna attract a lot of eyes. “Listen, Luka is a big-time player. [He’s] 25-years-old, hasn’t even reached his prime yet, and he’s done some amazing stuff in our league already. “I’m happy to have him and LA is happy to have him. It’s still a little bit surreal, to be honest.” Doncic would surely agree with LeBron’s assessment after being caught cold by the news. “You can imagine how surprised I was,” he said. “I had to check if it was April 1. I didn’t really believe it.” If Doncic can shrug off concerns over hit fitness, the joke may be on Dallas.
Luka Doncic was all anybody wanted to talk about as the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the Clippers.
The superstar’s arrival from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis and a first-round pick sent shockwaves through the NBA.
Doncic was in town to watch the Lakers win 122-97 on Tuesday – the first game since his arrival.
Bronny James did his best to steal the limelight — on and off the court.
LeBron’s eldest son was on the bench to start and sat next to five-time All-Star Doncic, who is recovering from a calf injury.
The rookie got into it with a fan during the first quarter as cameras caught him in a back-and-forth as his dad was on court.
Doncic looked bemused for the whole exchange, grinning and looking between Bronny and the supporter.
Fans couldn’t tell if he was loving the exchange or already ‘plotting his exit from LA.’
“Luka is the guy at the party who just wants to go home,” wrote one.
“Luka still shell shocked lmao,” added a second.
“Utterly embarrassed,” declared a third.
Bronny ultimately had the last laugh as he broke new ground in his fledgling NBA career.
The 20-year-old drained what he will hope is the first of many 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Dad LeBron has over 2,500 and is looking forward to working with Doncic.
But he admitted that seeing his Davis leave was tough to swallow after a FaceTime confirmed the stunning news.
“Just knowing that he was going to be gone, that was very, very difficult. Very challenging,” he said. “I could see how in shock he was, obviously. And he probably saw it from my face as well.”
“Guys are going to feel a certain way,” head coach JJ Redick said pregame. “And there’s a grieving process.
“There’s an excitement and a rebirth process. There’s all of these things and those things take time.
“It’s not, we’re not going to wave a magic wand and say, ‘Ah, we’re good today.’ Like it takes time. The important thing is that the mission has not changed and how we go about doing that mission has not changed.”
Doncic is set to take part in a scrimmage on Wednesday and could make his debut against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
“It’s going to be special,” LeBron said. “We’re gonna attract a lot of eyes.
“Listen, Luka is a big-time player. [He’s] 25-years-old, hasn’t even reached his prime yet, and he’s done some amazing stuff in our league already.
“I’m happy to have him and LA is happy to have him. It’s still a little bit surreal, to be honest.”
Doncic would surely agree with LeBron’s assessment after being caught cold by the news.
“You can imagine how surprised I was,” he said. “I had to check if it was April 1. I didn’t really believe it.”
If Doncic can shrug off concerns over hit fitness, the joke may be on Dallas.