Bronny James Fueled by Criticism, Thinks He's Perceived as a 'F*cking Robot'

Bronny James wants the haters to give him a break.

The 20-year-old, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers with his father, LeBron James, spoke out on nepotism allegations surrounding him in a new interview with ESPN's The Athletic. The story comes just a couple of weeks after James and Stephen A. Smith got into an intense courtside confrontation, with the small forward demanding that Smith not talk negatively about his son.

Bronny, who is probably already aware of the confrontation, told The Athletic that the criticism has personally affected him.

"My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down and come to work and be positive every day," Bronny told the outlet.

"But sometimes it just, it fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a fucking robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions," he continued.

But Bronny, who's spent his rookie season between the Lakers and their G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, added that public disapproval is simply "fuel" for him to refine his skills.

"But I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day," he said.

"That’s what [Lakers general manager] Rob [Pelinka] wants me to do as a young guy, coming in, playing in the G League, and learning from far on the bench watching the Lakers play," Bronny added.

Bronny has resorted to clapping back at hecklers, recently telling one game attendee that their chain was fake.