Los Angeles Lakers rookie Blake Hinson mentioned to Lakers Nation that he doesn’t think fellow rookie Bronny James got any special treatment during the Summer League.
This development follows a viral report from the US Sun, which detailed alleged chemistry issues within L.A.’s Summer League team due to how James was treated. The report included quotes from an anonymous player.
Hinson responded to the report.
“No,” Hinson said. “Where is that (report) at? Honestly, you know how it is. Stuff like that doesn’t really shock me. But we need to figure out if that’s even true because to be totally honest with you, as far as his treatment, he was just a normal guy.
“He just played basketball, he really stays out of the way. He’s a cool dude. I don’t really understand how something like that came out. So that’s nonsense to me.”
Hinson also praised James’ character.
“Cool dude off the court, cool dude on the court,” Hinson said. “I don’t really understand that nonsense you just informed me about. That’s not accurate, it shouldn’t be accurate.”
The anonymous player from the US Sun report mentioned that he and others on the roster were “all thinking about the end of the Summer League.”
“I ended up being very frustrated because I was never put in the best situation, or even put in some plays or game plans because they wanted Bronny to show his skills and shine,” the anonymous player told the US Sun.
“If you talk to any other player that was part of the roster of the California Classic and the Summer League, most of them would tell you the same thing.
“The tensions were visible, and pretty much we were all thinking about the end of the Summer League to get out of here and focus on our next step in our careers.”
Hinson scored a team-high 25 points in Los Angeles’ 26-point victory over the Bulls, with 21 of those points coming in the first half of the game.
The sharpshooter had a more productive Summer League stint than James, at least offensively. James struggled with scoring efficiency during his one season at the University of Southern California, and that continued into the Summer League.
In four appearances in Las Vegas, James averaged 8.8 points per game while shooting just 35.0 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from three-point range.It will be interesting to see whether Hinson or James gets more playing time with the Lakers in the upcoming 2024-25 regular season.