Much of the Lakers offseason chatter from fans involved Bronny James. Despite rather pedestrian numbers in his one year at USC, the team selected him with the 55th overall pick. Of course, the Lakers also roster his father, LeBron James. Was this a classic case of nepotism having Bronny get drafted?
Seeing much time in the G League, the younger James has only received garbage time minutes when playing for the NBA squad (other than the season opener where the James father/son combo became the first to play with each other). That was up until yesterday when head coach JJ Redick inserted him into the game in the first quarter.
Bronny James’ Non-Garbage Time Minutes Don’t Go Well Tuesday
Bronny Checked In During The First Quarter On Tuesday
On Tuesday, the Lakers faced a undermanned Philadelphia 76ers team. It was far from LA’s best performance as they lost by the score of 118-104. The loss dropped their record to 26-19, fifth-best in the Western Conference.
Redick made a somewhat surprising substitution in the first quarter. With 4:33 remaining, Bronny entered the game for Austin Reaves. It’s a sight that Lakers fans aren’t used to seeing which is Bronny entering a game so early. The Lakers were without Gabe Vincent, normally their first guard off the bench. Playing the rest of the opening stanza, he turned the ball over, committed a shooting foul, and missed a three-pointer. Bronny came in with LA leading 18-9. The game ended up being tied after the first 12 minutes.
Bronny would not play at all in the second quarter and wouldn’t come in again until 2:52 remained in the third quarter. He would also play around eight minutes in the fourth quarter in what was turning into a game that the Lakers had no chance of winning. After previously playing no more than 5:16 in his first 12 NBA outings, the 6-foot-2 guard played 15:26 on Tuesday. The final stat line wasn’t very good. Bronny shot 0-5 from the field (0-3 from beyond the arc) while adding three rebounds, one assist, and three turnovers.
After the game, Redick gave a blunt comment on how he believed Bronny’s performance went. Per Johan Buha of The Athletic, Redick said,
“He didn’t play well.”
JJ Redick said he went to Bronny James late in the first quarter to try to provide energy for the group.
“He didn’t play well,” Redick acknowledged.
He noted that Bronny has played well in the G League and stay-ready groups after practice/shootaround.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 29, 2025
Neither did the majority of his LA team in a game where Anthony Davis left early with an abdominal injury. The Lakers next chance to rebound is on Thursday on the road against the lowly Washington Wizards.
Struggles At The NBA Level
While Bronny has had some positive moments playing for the South Bay Lakers of the G League, those moments haven’t translated at the NBA level. Yesterday, was Bronny’s 13th game in the NBA. In 44 total minutes, he has totaled just four points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. He had made just one of his 16 field goals attempts and missed all nine of his shots from three-point territory.
Unfortunately, his play in the NBA hasn’t silenced the critics who believe he shouldn’t have been drafted, and it was only done as a favor to his father. Bronny is just 20 years old though, so there’s still time for him to turn it around.
Photo credit: © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
