{"id":154094,"date":"2025-08-10T11:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T15:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=154094"},"modified":"2025-08-10T11:52:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T15:52:42","slug":"lakers-bronny-james-growth-nate-mcmillan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/10\/lakers-bronny-james-growth-nate-mcmillan\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Lakers Assistant Offers Encouraging Sign for Bronny James"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a relatively productive offseason, Lakers fans may start to wonder what next year\u2019s rotation looks like, factoring in both the superstars and the newcomers. Assistant coach Nate McMillan offered high praise for Bronny James<\/a>, suggesting the team\u2019s top ten is due for a shake-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Lakers Assistant Offers Encouraging Sign for Bronny James<\/b><\/h2>\n

Nate McMillan on Bronny\u2019s Growth<\/b><\/h3>\n

While appearing on <\/span>\u201cThe Sports Shop with Reese and K-Mac,\u201d<\/span><\/a> McMillan discussed James Jr.\u2019s growth this summer, highlighting his solid stints in both the G League and Summer League and how the former influenced the latter. In 11 games with the <\/span>South Bay Lakers<\/span><\/a>, he put up 21.5 points (.440\/.380\/.815 splits), 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. During Summer League<\/a> (between the California Classic and Las Vegas), James averaged 11.5 points (.476\/.300\/.786), 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and one steal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We’ve seen a lot of growth from year one. He had, I thought, a really good Summer League this year. A young guy like that, coming in with this type of pressure that he came into the league with last year, was unbelievable. When he played in the Las Vegas Summer League last year and this year, his games were sold out to see him. The fan base has really, I think for the most part, been really supportive of him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe spent a lot of time in the G League this season, and I really feel that helped him because when he came out into this Summer League and played every game this summer, you could see the confidence. He was much more relaxed than he was last year. And everybody would have been as nervous as could be last season, but he was much more relaxed this season. His shot was never broken, but the confidence, you could see he was knocking down those shots, getting to the basket. Defensively, we wanted him to challenge himself to pick up the ball.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

McMillan also noted the bond between Bronny and <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> that set an example for both players and coaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut to see the two of them [LeBron and Bronny] work together, it was amazing. And LeBron as a father, it was amazing. He set that example for all of us. They would be in practice, and they would go at each other, but \u2026 LeBron made sure that it was always business when they were on the floor, and that he was setting the example not only for his son but for his team. I love Bronny. Great young man and we expect him to possibly get some minutes this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That last sentence echoes a sentiment delivered earlier in the offseason, when a rival executive claimed the team was <\/span>\u201cdead set\u201d on including Bronny in the rotation<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Feb
Feb 1, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) checks in for forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Does Bronny Deserve a Rotation Spot?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Bronny clearly made strides this offseason, evidenced by <\/span>strong Summer League performances<\/span><\/a>. Though his scoring was inconsistent, he showed flashes of being a legit three-level threat, nailing catch-and-shoot threes and stepback midranges while finishing through contact at the rim. And, as McMillan pointed out, James improved as a defender, scratching the surface of <\/span>one of his offseason goals<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s all shaping up to be a promising year for Bronny James, who could very well make an impact if given the chance.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Lakers\u2019 buff guard <\/span>rotation<\/span><\/a> presents a challenging path toward Bronny\u2019s minutes\u2014a dilemma that begins with their <\/span>starting lineup<\/span><\/a>. If head coach JJ Redick<\/a> takes an unconventional route and puts <\/span>Marcus Smart<\/span><\/a> next to <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a>, that could leave the door ajar for Bronny to earn an opportunity. However, he would also have to compete with <\/span>Gabe Vincent<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Dalton Knecht<\/span><\/a> along with staggered stints for Doncic, Reaves or Smart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, James Jr. has exactly what the team\u2019s bench needs as a quick and athletic two-way guard\u2014not to mention his youth at 20 on a somewhat veteran roster. His skills also could mesh well with <\/span>Rui Hachimura<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Jake LaRavia<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Jaxson Hayes<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Jarred Vanderbilt<\/span><\/a>\u2014all of whom are primed for their own opportunities in the frontcourt. Though there is no shortage of talent between the returners and the new guys, Bronny is ready to thrive under the bright lights next season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a relatively productive offseason, Lakers fans may start to wonder what next year\u2019s rotation looks like, factoring in both the superstars and the newcomers. Assistant coach Nate McMillan offered high praise for Bronny James, suggesting the team\u2019s top ten is due for a shake-up. Top Lakers Assistant Offers Encouraging Sign for Bronny James Nate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":154098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[4556,4572,2279,38,1133,428,454],"class_list":["post-154094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-austin-reaves","tag-bronny-james","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-marcus-smart","tag-nate-mcmillan"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154094"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154114,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154094\/revisions\/154114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}