Bronny James has made significant strides as a player since he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. When he was drafted, Bronny was seen as a defensive-minded guard that didn’t have many other NBA-level skillsets. But he has changed that perception quickly despite not getting too much time with the Lakers parent team.
Now, Bronny is a high-level defender — as he always was — but is an improved on-ball decision-maker and shooter. He had 15 points, eight assists and three steals on 5-of-10 shooting for the South Bay Lakers on Friday night. But now, given the makeup of the Lakers roster, Bronny has a new challenge.
The second-year guard is now looking at ways to become a more effective off-ball player, after conversations with head coach JJ Redick about the state of the roster, via Lakers reporter Raj Chipalu:
Asked Bronny about the balance of being on ball here vs the parent team.
“I'm trying to focus now on bettering myself off the ball. Me and JJ have talked about all the ball handlers on the parent team, so I have to learn how to be effective off the ball. Have a .5 mentality." pic.twitter.com/N48957dEUV
— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) November 22, 2025
The Lakers have Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James to handle the primary creation at the NBA level. Bronny, while a solid on-ball point guard, is not as good as any of those players. And that means he has to shift what he does on a basketball court to become a fit with this team, similar to how Gabe Vincent became nearly entirely an off-ball shooter over the last two years.
Up to this point, Bronny has shown that he is up for any challenge and can make whatever improvements are asked of him. To do this, he’ll need to become a more efficient three-point shooter — enough to demand closeouts from opposing defenders — and improve around the rim so he can be an effective cutter and slasher.
With Vincent on an expiring contract, it’s possible the Lakers would want Bronny to fill that slot next season, giving him the rest of the year to work on those skills.
Adou Thiero shines in Lakers G League debut
The Lakers welcomed back 2025 second-round pick Adou Thiero to the mix last week. He had missed the first 13 games of the 2025-26 season recovering from knee surgery — a hyperextension he suffered last season — and was activated for L.A.’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
He was sent down to the G League earlier this week with the Lakers having four full days off and South Bay having a game against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Friday night.
Thiero started for South Bay in that game — alongside some other familiar names in Bronny James, Nick Smith Jr., Christian Koloko and Drew Timme — and impressed in all phases. He finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals on 5-of-9 shooting in only 19 minutes of action.
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