LeBron James gave encouragement to one of his newest teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers.

This teammate happens to be his son.

The King posted on Instagram on Wednesday that Bronny James should block out all the “hate” and “noise” from outside as he prepares for his rookie season in the NBA:

There was a lot of buzz about the younger James this offseason, as he limited his training sessions with other teams before the NBA Draft and eventually joined the Lakers in the second round as number 55.

The fact that his father is famous in Los Angeles was certainly more than just a coincidence and triggered numerous reactions among basketball fans.

Bronny James wasn’t exactly dominant during his only college season at USC, either, which raises the question of whether he would have been drafted at all without his father. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and shot 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from beyond the arc for the Trojans.

These are hardly the numbers of an NBA draft candidate, but the statistics are missing important context.

Firstly, he suffered a cardiac arrest in the summer before the 2023/24 season and only made his debut after the season had started. He had to catch up from the start and never really got into his stride.

Additionally, James was a 5-star recruit according to 247Sports’ overall rankings, indicating his potential to advance to the NBA.

Perhaps playing alongside stars like his father and Anthony Davis will help him develop some of that potential, as he will never be the focus of the opposing defense and should have plenty of freedom of movement.

Given this fact, he is surely working on his three-point shot as he looks to make an impression as an NBA rookie.