Bronny James is aware of the criticism directed towards him, with many doubting his readiness for the NBA and alleging that he is only receiving opportunities due to his father, LeBron, leading to accusations of preferential treatment.

The 20-year-old, perhaps the most scrutinized second-round pick ever, is trying to use it all as motivation.

“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,” James told The Athletic in a rare interview. “But sometimes it just, it fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a f–king robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.

“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. 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.”

James, the No. 55 overall pick in last year’s NBA draft who received a fully guaranteed four-year contract, has split his time between the NBA and the G League this year.

In 21 NBA appearances he’s averaging 1.6 points on 26.3 percent shooting in less than five minutes a game.

During the G League tipoff tournament, James averaged 13.4 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds in seven games. In nine regular-season G League contests, James is averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds.

Last Friday against the Nuggets in Denver, James played a career-high 15:43, scoring five points on 1-for-5 shooting (all 3-pointers) while making both of his free throw attempts. He added two rebounds and a steal.

“It’s great that [head coach] JJ [Redick] had the level of trust to throw him into a big game the other night at Denver, which is a tough place to play, and he got in the game, made a couple defensive plays, made a corner 3, and I think that’s what he prides himself in is the 3-and-D type of archetype,” Pelinka told The Athletic “And for him to be doing it in moments in NBA games, that’s great that he’s even grasped that already.”

In his most recent appearance Wednesday night, James did not take a shot in about four minutes of action during the Lakers’ home win over Denver.

Initially, the Lakers drew criticism for their plan to not play James in G League road games. That plan has since been altered, but it was a signal at how different life is like for James compared to any other late second-round draft pick that has come before him.

Some of the criticism has upset LeBron, who recently confronted Stephen A. Smith during a Lakers game after the ESPN personality criticized LeBron for putting his son in a position to play in NBA games when he wasn’t ready.

Bronny believes he’s grown since the start of the season.

“I definitely think I’ve improved, not only as a player, but just having a different mindset as a player to go out and play my game and play the game that I know how to play,” he told The Athletic. “I feel really good about it — I see the progress.”