Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James just had the best night of his young career. Sharp, confident and efficient, he recorded 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block against the Milwaukee Bucks in 30 minutes. Though it was in a losing effort, Prince James looked like he truly belonged in the NBA.
Lakers’ Bronny James Has Career Night Against Bucks
James has flashed potential prior to this point. However, most of that has come during his time in the G League, on assignment. With the Lakers, he’s only had one game where he’s had one game where he had at least a modest output and been efficient while doing so. In that game, he tallied nine points and one assist in seven minutes against the Utah Jazz.
His performance on Thursday was light years ahead of that.
Bronny James Career High Highlights vs Bucks :
30 MIN
17 PTS
7-10 FG (70%)
2-4 3PT (50%)
5 AST
3 REB
1 BLKBronny James got the most minutes he has got all season in his Rookie year and made the most out of it for JJ Redick.
He led the Lakers in scoring while also setting his… pic.twitter.com/lrtxmXiMvP
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) March 21, 2025
He hit floaters off the dribble, his first step deceptively quick. He buried pull-up jumpers inside and outside of the 3-point circle. As a playmaker, he showed himself capable of making both the difficult and easy pass. He even connected with fellow rookie Dalton Knecht on a couple of long bombs. As a defender, James continued to use his core strength, basketball IQ, quick hands, athleticism, and tenacity to his advantage.
There was a lot to like. A lot. Though it’s wise for players to never get too up or down, this is a night that he should remember and try to build off of.
The Last Word On Bronny James
Bronny has endured more criticism than any player in his draft class.
Truly, not even No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher faces as much scrutiny as he does as the 55th overall pick. As the eldest son of LeBron James, who’s not only a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA MVP but the league’s all-time leading scorer, perhaps that was always his destiny once he decided he wanted to pursue a basketball career. To that point, he’s been scouted since he was in elementary school.
If that seems like a millennium ago, his cardiac arrest episode feels like it happened a lifetime ago. Nevertheless, when evaluating him, it’s always been worth keeping in perspective how recently that was. Not only that, but the determination that he had to possess to continue his efforts to make it to the NBA afterwards.
Say his father did use his influence to help get him into the door, as many people believe. He has to be good enough to stay in the room. That’s exactly what he’s trying to do; prove he’s good enough.
How can that not be respected?
© Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
