Many people across the basketball world were kvetching after the Los Angeles Lakers took Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in last year’s NBA draft. The thinking has been that his father, LeBron, and Klutch Sports funneled him into the league and onto the Lakers to fulfill the elder James’ bucket list wish of playing alongside him in a game, and many doubted he was ready to be a pro.
But after some early struggles, the younger James started to figure things out. Although he was continually shuffled between the G League and the NBA, he had a few huge games in the G League and put up strong numbers overall there.
The question now seems to be not if he can be a rotation player in the NBA but when he will become one. An NBA executive believes it will happen next season because, as he claimed, that’s what the Lakers are thinking.
Via Athlon Sports:
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that’s their plan,” one Western Conference executive said. “I know the guy gets a lot of grief because of who his dad is, but we’ve seen a lot fo tape on (Bronny) and the fact is, he was a lot better player in April than he was in October, and definitely in July.”
In 11 games with the South Bay Lakers, the younger James averaged 21.9 points, 5.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 44.3% from the field and 38% from 3-point range.
He still has plenty of growth he needs to go through before he’s ready to be a full-time NBA player, especially when it comes to being a catch-and-shoot 3-point threat and being a more consistent offensive threat from game to game. But his play in January, February and March gave people some tangible hope for him.
“He’s 20 years old,” the exec said. “He had a whole year where his development was thrown all out of whack. But he can defend the perimeter and he showed he can shoot the 3. If he can show that wasn’t a fluke, he is going to start getting 10, 15 minutes a night because the team is going to feel like they can trust him.
“I think he is going to do all that. He is going to be a regular for them next year.”
The big-league Lakers need youth, athleticism and depth, especially at the guard and wing spots, and they don’t have a lot of trade assets or salary cap flexibility to address those needs. If the younger James starts breaking into their rotation next season and starts making a meaningful contribution on a consistent basis by the 2026-27 campaign, it would be big for a Lakers franchise that is intent on building a contender around and for Luka Doncic.
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