Jaylen Brown has come under fire after he was spotted seemingly making critiques about Bronny James while sitting courtside with his girlfriend, Kysre Gondrezick, and her former teammate, Angel Reese. Now, he’s addressing his comments head-on.
On July 15, Reese, Gondrezick, and the Celtics MVP attended the NBA Summer League game between Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas. Sitting courtside, Brown turns to his rumored girlfriend to share his thoughts on Bronny James’ performance as a pro. What he probably didn’t expect was to have his entire conversation captured on camera.
In video clips that began circulating online, you cannot hear what Brown tells Gondrezick. However, cyber sleuths attempted to read his lips and seemingly deciphered the conversation between Brown and the former WNBA player.
“I don’t think Bronny is a pro,” Brown appeared to tell Gondrezick in a the clip that has since gone viral.
A longer version of the video showed Gondrezick offering a prediction on where the eldest child of NBA superstar LeBron James will land.
“I think he’ll be on the G-league team, for sure,” she replied.
Brown countered Gondrezick’s position, citing the weight Bronny’s last name carries. “Because of his name, he’s gonna be with the Lakers,” noted Brown.
WNBA rookie Angel Reese was sitting next to Brown and Gondrezick at the time. While she turned toward the pair as they chatted about Bronny, it was not clear whether she added her thoughts to the conversation.
Some fans commended Reese for seemingly steering clear.
“Angel Reese smart for not saying anything,” someone wrote on X.
“Exactly! Great decision on her part,” another social media user replied.
However, other lip-readers argued that Reese agreed with Brown’s take and said some variation of “me neither” or “he’s not” when she turned toward the two.
Many fans were concerned for Brown’s future — especially if LeBron James were to come across the viral footage and see what he had allegedly been saying.
“If Bron sees this, brother is done, for real,” one fan wrote.
“Lebron is about to get this man exiled from the NBA,” another fan said.
“Jaylen gotta chill like he didn’t just win his first ring..know he ain’t repeating next season casting shade at a rookie,” a third fan stated.
“And this is why most professional athletes cover their mouths during games an on the bench while talking,” one fan suggested. “Unfortunately a star at that level isn’t given any privacy but it kinda comes with the spotlight..But yea Bron gonna have Jaylen sent to the G League. [laughing emoji]”
Brown, Gondrezick, and Reese were later spotted leaving the game before the Celtics secured an 88-74 victory over the Lakers. Reese remains in Las Vegas for the Chicago Sky’s game against the Las Vegas Aces on July 16.
After catching wind of the hoopla, Brown had no choice but to address what was caught on video. In a tweet posted on July 16, Brown wrote, “It’s a flex to have your son alongside you in the nba it reflects greatness and longevity !Bronny has all the tools around him to be successful I look forward to watching his growth.”
Several fans mentioned that Brown failed to deny the accuracy of the lip-readers, while other fans felt he was back-tracking due to LeBron’s influence. Then, there were fans who defended Brown and felt he deserved privacy.
“He said in private. He’s attending a game socially, not as a public figure. Shameful that this type of coverage has become the norm,” said a fan in Brown’s defense.
“Damn he definitely said that and like I don’t disagree. But let the guy watch the game in peace, you’re literally just filming his convo mad creepy,” another said.
Bronny, the 55th overall selection in the 2024 NBA draft, has been the most widely discussed prospect this summer. He made his summer league debut on July 6, scoring 4 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. Despite the somewhat underwhelming debut, he expressed his appreciation for the reception he received.
“The atmosphere,” 19-year-old James responded when asked about what stood out the most to him after his first game. “It was more than I expected. I mean, it’s a big game for me, but I didn’t know if people from Golden State would come and rep for me. So that was pretty nice to see.” All eyes have been on James this summer as thousands of fans have filed into the UNLV’s home arena to watch Lakers games.
While James has faced some offensive struggles over his first handful of summer league games, he has shown impressive effort on the defensive end.
His string of rough performances could delay his highly anticipated debut in an NBA game with his future Hall of Fame father. Bronny did hint that he would be open to spending some time with the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers affiliate in the developmental G League this fall.
“I’m just looking forward to any basketball I play,” Bronny told reporters on July 12. “No matter what level I’m playing at.”
James is averaging just over 4 points per game through his first few contests in the NBA-sanctioned offseason competition. He averaged 4.8 points through 25 appearances with the USC Trojans basketball team.
