With LeBron James out again for Friday night's matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking for contributions elsewhere. They got a nice little bonus from Bronny James in the first quarter as the rookie scored five points off the bench, answering a chorus of loud boos from Nuggets fans when he checked into the game.
James has been one of the most discussed end-of-the-bench NBA players in modern history—to the point that his place on the Lakers bench was the butterfly effect for a viral LeBron-Stephen A. Smith confrontation that dominated sports media for days. But the loud and sustained booing from an opposing fanbase is somewhat new.
Perhaps it will inspire a breakout performance from Bronny, who is more than halfway to his career high of nine points at halftime and has already been recognized as being locked in.