Trainer Chris Brinkley trains with LeBron James and his sons Bryce and Bronny (right).

The NBA Draft was a two-night event in June for the first time. Thirty young men saw their lifelong dreams come true when Commissioner Adam Silver called their names on Day 1. None of those players were Bronny James.

Bronny didn’t pout, which is an example of the mental toughness of the eldest son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Instead, he woke up early the next morning and joined his father, LeBron, at a gym in New York City for a workout with celebrity trainer Chris Brickley.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow not getting drafted the first night,” Brickley said. “The next day, LeBron had a workout scheduled, but in my mind I’m wondering if Bronny would come too.

“So it’s nine in the morning and they both walk in. Bronny had one of his best workouts. The whole world is like, ‘Oh, you weren’t drafted on Day 1,’ and he comes in ready to work. They got a good 90 minutes of training and that was a sign that he is mature and ready for whatever awaits him.”

Bronny was called up by the Los Angeles Lakers on Day 2 and made his preseason debut on October 4. He scored two points, blocked three shots, had a rebound and an assist in 16 minutes. On his 20th birthday, Bronny made history by teaming up with LeBron and becoming the first father and son to play together in an NBA preseason game as the Lakers lost to the Suns.

Bronny has been the talk of barbershops across the country since its design. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, let’s hear from an expert in the field.

“He had a heart problem right before his season at USC,” Brickley said. “So it’s no joke to deal with that before your first college season. Some of the criticism he has received is not fair. You can’t just look at his stats and say, oh, he didn’t have a great season.”

Bronny went into cardiac arrest during practice the summer before his freshman season. He underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect and was cleared by doctors to return to basketball just over four months later.

In his lone season at USC (25 games), he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while playing just under 20 minutes per game.

During their five practices, Brickley noticed not only that Bronny was a better shooter than people gave him credit for, but that his athleticism was jumping off the charts.

“I recently posted a photo where his eyes were on the edge,” Brickley said. “This wasn’t at the end of practice when guys were just messing around and dunking – this was during practice.

“He made a cut, caught the ball at full speed and dunked it face to face with the rim. His technique is very good, he has good form and his athleticism is different. He’s going to be better than people think.”

Brickley recently became a global ambassador for Peloton, and will work with Peloton on social media content, among other things.

“I’m excited about this,” Brickley said. “It’s a great opportunity. As someone who has trained top basketball players for years, I know how important fitness is, both on and off the court. I’m a big fan of Peloton gear, especially the Peloton Tread+, and I loved discovering all the great workouts in the app when I was on the go.”