"How much did Lebron pay him to say that?": Lakers fans in meltdown after Austin Reaves publicly crowns Bronny James among the best

The LA Lakers are currently in a training camp to gel ahead of the 2025-2026 NBA season. Aside from building their chemistry inside the court, the players are also looking to better their games for the upcoming season, just like the incoming sophomore player Bronny James.

According to Lakers guard Austin Reaves, Bronny's work ethic has catapulted him into one of the best players in Lakers practices.

"We've played golf the other day...I told him 'you’ve been one of the better players out on the floor almost every day. So continue to do that,’” he said.

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Lakers fans went into a frenzy after Reaves' comments about Bronny's improvements, with some even quipping jokes about motives in saying such comments.

Other fans did not believe Reaves' comments on Bronny, citing the sophomore guard's preseason performances.

The Lakers lost their first two preseason games against the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. Bronny scored eight and five points, respectively, in the games while playing an average of 23.5 minutes.

Against the Suns, Bronny shot 1-of-12 from the field, while in their loss against the Warriors, he had five turnovers.

Bronny appeared in 27 games in his rookie season last year, averaging 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.

His father, LeBron James, will be entering a record 23rd season in the league and is expected to be the team's leader alongside superstar Luka Doncic.

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Bronny James reveals what he worked on during the NBA's offseason

After a lackluster first season in the NBA, Bronny James aims for a second-year leap this season. In preparations for his sophomore season, Bronny has worked on numerous facets of his game, including his ball handling, drives, and shooting.

“Just creating space for myself,” he said last July. "Just getting downhill more. Use my body as a big point guard, just trying to use my body as best as I can. “Just shooting off the dribble, stuff like that. Everything. I’ve been working on everything. So trying to get better as a player overall.”

Bronny shot 31.3 percent from the field, including 28.1 percent from the three-point line last season.

The Lakers will still have four preseason games to test Bronny's wares before the regular season starts in Oct. 21 against the Warriors.

Edited by Rob Andrew Lo