{"id":12974,"date":"2024-12-21T08:08:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T08:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12974"},"modified":"2024-12-21T08:08:35","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T08:08:35","slug":"breaking-g-league-mvp-mac-mcclung-sounds-off-on-lakers-bronny-james-ahead-of-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12974","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: G League MVP Mac McClung Sounds Off on Lakers\u2019 Bronny James Ahead of Showdown.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177170352-e1734204446789.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177170352-e1734204446789.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177170352-e1734204446789.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177170352-e1734204446789.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Bronny James, LeBron James, Lakers\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-img-load-time=\"96\" data-dom-ready-time=\"161\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Bronny James #9 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warm up.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last season\u2019s G League MVP and two-time NBA Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung is looking forward to his marquee matchup against\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0rookie\u00a0Bronny James\u00a0on Saturday, December 21, in the Winter Showcase in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>James has put the G League on notice since scoring a career-high 30 points last week against the Valley Suns, the Western Conference leader in the Tip-Off Tournament. He followed that up with back-to-back 16-point performances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a big matchup for us, being in front of scouts and stuff, so we\u2019re just going to really stick to our game plan and then try to win the game,\u201d McLung told Heavy.com ahead of their showdown.<\/p>\n<p>McClung\u2019s Osceola Magic will face James\u2019 South Bay Lakers at noon E.T., which will be aired live on ESPNU.<\/p>\n<p>James, the 20-year-old Lakers rookie, racked up 16 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals during his G League Winter Showcase debut on December 18.<\/p>\n<p>South Bay, however, squandered a 19-point lead to spoil James\u2019 third straight double-digit scoring performance, as they lost 98-90 to the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte Hornets\u2019 affiliate.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\u2018The Best Is Yet to Come\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The heightened scrutiny on James\u2019 NBA career after his selection as the 55th overall pick by the Lakers has been a gift and a curse.<\/p>\n<p>But McClung said Bronny, the eldest son of\u00a0LeBron James, who is one of the all-time greats, is handling the pressure well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t relate to how much attention he\u2019s gotten and how much eyes are on him, 24\/7 and I think he\u2019s doing a great job with it,\u201d McClung told Heavy.com. \u201cI think that he\u2019s a great player, and I think the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James was jeered by naysayers\u00a0when he got off to a slow start on his G League assignment. He averaged a measly 5.0 points on a woeful 21.1% shooting on the floor while missing all his three 3-point attempts during his first two G League games.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Bronny James is \u2018Great for the G League\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>But after that poor start, James has gotten comfortable this December as he is averaging 20.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.\u00a0Praise from fans\u00a0has started pouring in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne day they love you, and one day they hate you,\u201d McClung said of the fair-weather fans. \u201cSomeone once told me, someone will tell you the greatest thing in the world, and you\u2019re not that, and then someone day, someone tell you the worst thing in the world, and you\u2019re not that either. So I think he\u2019s handling all this pressure greatly, and I think the best is yet to come for Bronny.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it has been a curse for James to be the son of the most famous basketball player on the planet, it\u2019s been a gift to McClung and the rest of the G League players who are fighting for a chance to get an NBA call-up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think [Bronny\u2019s presence], it\u2019s great for the G League,\u201d McClung told Heavy.com. \u201cI think he\u2019s bringing a lot of eyes to it, a lot of recognition, and people around the G league feel that way, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McClung, who went undrafted in 2021, has carved his niche in the G League, which led to his two-way contract with the Magic. As one of the top G League stars, McClung is back for his second appearance in the award-winning docuseries, \u201cThe Break, presented by The General,\u201d which gives spotlight to the dedication and determination of G League players, shedding light on the unique journeys that define their careers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div class=\"embed-youtube-com\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Play\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lkCDNJcxcpc?autoplay=1\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__author-bio\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Bronny James #9 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warm up. Last season\u2019s G League MVP and two-time NBA Slam Dunk champion Mac&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: G League MVP Mac McClung Sounds Off on Lakers\u2019 Bronny James Ahead of Showdown.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12974\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: G League MVP Mac McClung Sounds Off on Lakers\u2019 Bronny James Ahead of Showdown.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Bronny James #9 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers warm up. 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