{"id":157179,"date":"2025-08-29T16:49:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T20:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=157179"},"modified":"2025-08-29T16:49:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T20:49:48","slug":"lakers-bronny-james-path-toward-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/29\/lakers-bronny-james-path-toward-rotation\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider Projects Bronny James\u2019 Path Toward Lakers Rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the <\/span>Lakers<\/span><\/a> continue preparing for the 2025-26 campaign, many eyes will be on <\/span>Bronny James<\/span><\/a>\u2019 growth heading into year two. The former USC Trojan has a significant spotlight on him as <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a>\u2019 son, and one writer believes he could have several chances to earn minutes for LA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Insider Projects Bronny James\u2019 Path Toward Lakers Rotation<\/b><\/h2>\n

Eric Pincus on Bronny\u2019s Rotation Chances<\/b><\/h3>\n

In a Friday article for <\/span>Bleacher Report<\/span><\/a>, senior NBA writer Eric Pincus evaluated Bronny\u2019s chances of getting minutes under head coach JJ Redick. He compared James Jr. to backup point guard <\/span>Gabe Vincent<\/span><\/a>, and noted that if Bronny could get to that level as a 3-and-D guard, it\u2019d be a \u201cwin\u201d for the Lakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe may aspire for more, but the initial hope is that James can reach regular rotation status,\u201d Pincus added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, James will become a lockdown perimeter defender who can shoot the three closer to 40 percent\u2014think of an older-school Lakers guard in Derek Fisher. James has a long way to go to prove he’s capable, but that’s the target. Should he develop further into a more dynamic shot creator as a primary ball handler, even better.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Lakers will have two veterans in the second unit’s backcourt\u2014Vincent and Marcus Smart<\/a>\u2014so Bronny\u2019s chances are already limited. However, Pincus believes that if Smart\u2019s injury woes continue, that\u2014among other factors\u2014could actually work in Bronny\u2019s favor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSmart’s most significant issue is durability. If he misses 20-50 games, as he’s been known to do in recent years, that might open a window for James to earn minutes. Redick doesn’t have many other options at guard, unless he’s playing forwards out of position like Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, or Jarred Vanderbilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

James may struggle to get regular minutes initially, but injuries, trades, and, if he can shoot the ball at a high clip and defend his position well, the opportunities may come.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report builds on recent optimism around Bronny\u2019s growth, including comments from <\/span>assistant coach Nate McMillan<\/span><\/a>, who initially hinted about him receiving more chances next season.<\/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

Bronny Can Be Positive Asset for Lakers Rotation<\/b><\/h3>\n

Despite his status as a second-round pick, Bronny James has the athleticism and two-way potential to be a solid addition to the Lakers rotation should opportunities arise. He already flashed some promise in Summer League, <\/span>averaging<\/span><\/a> 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists on .444\/.296\/.813 splits. Though his shooting was inconsistent, he displayed a clear commitment to defense and appeared more comfortable with the league\u2019s speed and intensity, the latter likely resulting from <\/span>Redick\u2019s expectation<\/span><\/a> of him: to get into \u201celite shape.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bronny has the talent and work ethic to earn minutes next season, and the emphasis on his conditioning will only help his case. Should Smart or Vincent miss time, James Jr. appears ready to step up, even if there are certain skills he must improve on first.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Lakers continue preparing for the 2025-26 campaign, many eyes will be on Bronny James\u2019 growth heading into year two. The former USC Trojan has a significant spotlight on him as LeBron James\u2019 son, and one writer believes he could have several chances to earn minutes for LA. Insider Projects Bronny James\u2019 Path Toward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":122042,"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":[4572,4921,38,428],"class_list":["post-157179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-bronny-james","tag-gabe-vincent","tag-lebron-james","tag-marcus-smart"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157179","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=157179"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157193,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157179\/revisions\/157193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}