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The Los Angeles Lakers need to buy in on Bronny James…
Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers – Game One | Ronald Martinez/GettyImages
Bronny James spent a lot of his rookie season as a punchline for NBA Twitter. The Los Angeles Lakers rookie had the spotlight on him for all the wrong reasons by media punditry on popular television platforms.
Who could forget the embarrassing saga between Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James during the 2024-25 campaign? Things got personal and Smith kept them that way for much longer than the situation required after the fact.
Lost in all of this is the fact that Bronny has given enough reason for the Lakers to stay interested in his development. Some may believe that this continues to be a wasted roster spot moving forward for Los Angeles. However, it could ultimately prove worthwhile for the Lakers to double down.
James’ developmental journey deserves patience and persistence
It is easy to forget now, but James was a four to five star recruit, depending on the outlet, when coming out of high school. The athletic guard received numerous offers before deciding to commit to USC for his NCAA career.
The relevance here would be the fact that Bronny was well-regarded as a prospect. It was his time at USC that ultimately brought the biggest hit to that status.
James only averaged 4.8 pointsm 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals per game with the Trojans before entering the 2024 NBA Draft. His shooting splits of 37-27-68 in college discouraged many from believing in his NBA upside.
An important bit of context that is often ignored is the cardiac arrest that Bronny suffered at a USC workout due to a heart defect. It was a setback that James ultimately overcame, but one that undoubtedly had an impact on a crucial developmental period in his basketball career.
The younger of the two James on the Lakers has been playing catch-up ever since. After making the iconic debut in the purple and gold alongside his father, a good chunk of his season was spent in the NBA G League.
The production offered by Bronny with the South Bay Lakers gave room for encouragement. James averaged 21.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in 11 appearances. The Lakers rookie shot 44.3 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from distance in the process.
No one is going to sit here and say that will ever lead to James being a star, but the belief that Bronny can become a rotational player for the Lakers should exist. Lakers coach JJ Redick has certainly ascribed to the thought in the past.
Redick told the media, “He’s the same guy every day, … he just continues to work. … I told him I’m very high on him, long-term, being a part of our rotation.”
With the Lakers lacking depth, shooting, and defense, the hope would be James growing into a player that can give that to Redick’s group off the bench for a handful of minutes every night. Giving up on that idea so early into this experiment would be wrong.