HANDLING 'AMPLIFIED' PRESSURE

Bronny vows to get through criticism, be a success following surreal’ Lakers move

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LOS ANGELES - Bronny James said on July 2 he is ready to deal with the pressure of playing alongside his National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar father LeBron as he was formally unveiled by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 19-year-old former University of Southern California (USC) player, chosen by the Lakers on June 27 with the 55th pick in the NBA Draft, will form the first father-and-son double act in NBA history when he suits up for the Lakers next season.

That prospect was solidified when LeBron, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, agreed to sign a twoyear maximum contract, worth US$104 million (S$141 million), to return to the Lakers, according to multiple reports on July 3.

The Lakers' move for Bronny has been greeted with scepticism in some quarters, with pundits questioning whether the Lakers would have drafted him if he was not LeBron's eldest son.

Bronny, with LeBron standing in the background, addressed those criticisms directly in the July 2 press conference at the Lakers training facility at El Segundo.

"It's for sure an amplified amount of pressure," Bronny said. "I've already seen it social media and...