Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has been developing his individual skills over the offseason. Although the Lakers came up short against the Golden State Warriors in a 111-103 result on Sunday night, James gave a taste of what he could be capable of doing.
The Lakers were facing a massive deficit in the fourth quarter of the game. Given that it was a rather despondent time for the Purple and Gold, James electrified the audience with a vicious putback dunk off a missed three-point attempt by Dalton Knecht.
BRONNY MF JAMES
🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 6, 2025
James’ dunk may not have had a massive impact in helping the Lakers close the gap, but it certainly had fans hyped. With several reacting to the play on social media, here are some of the best comments.
“He got that ‘Hall-of-Fame Aerial Wizard’ badge,” shared one ecstatic fan.
“The genes kicking in,” added another while acknowledging James’ lineage.
One user followed the same train of thought and chimed in, “MF is already carrying the LeBron energy.”
“WOW YOUNG GOAT,” shared one particularly excited user.
“Bronny King Jr.,” noted another fan.
“GET UP THERE, YOUNG MAN,” hyped up another user.
“Bronny haters are so quiet,” said another.
“The hype is REAL – putting on a show already,” claimed one hyped user.
“He’s lowkey him,” stated one user, giving the young guard his flowers.
A user also acknowledged the comments by several who were trying to undermine the play and stated, “Most saying it’s nothing can’t do it. Fire play.”
While a fair majority of the reactions favored the guard and his display, some fans remained unimpressed. When considering his overall performance of five points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block on 2-for-6 shooting from the field, this is justified.
Although Bronny James’ dunk was undoubtedly a highlight in its own right, and it did help inspire some semblance of a late comeback effort by the Purple and Gold, the Warriors still came away with the win.
After facing significant criticism as of late, with former NBA player Kwame Brown going off on the guard, James will view this performance as one to forget. When also factoring in his poor shooting display against the Phoenix Suns, however, it is evident that he will need to switch gears.
Regardless, the sample size for Bronny James has been quite small thus far. Although his performances in preseason haven’t been particularly impressive, the 21-year-old has shown flashes of potential, which have been viewed quite positively by the Lakers’ coaching staff.
As he positions himself to become a two-way player with a greater emphasis on defense, the guard will hope to have a better showing in the Lakers’ next preseason game, where they will face the Warriors again, but this time at home at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 12 at 11:30 p.m. ET.
