No second round pick in NBA history has gotten more media attention in his rookie season than Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James. The No. 55 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, it feels as though every single move of his rookie season was closely monitored by fans, media and some people who seemed to legitimately want his NBA tenure to fail.
That latter group never got what they were seeking. Bronny did not get many NBA opportunities, and had both good and bad moments when he did. But the bulk of his season was spent in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. There, he averaged 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 44.0% from the field and 38.0% from three.
But as LeBron James has always said about his son, he is going to continue to put in the work, because he loves it. After the Lakers’ season came to an end on Wednesday night, Bronny said that he is going to participate in his second Las Vegas Summer League this July, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Bronny James says he will play in the Las Vegas Summer League again this offseason
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 1, 2025
This is a positive development for a few reasons. First, it means that Bronny will get more playing time to develop his game and work towards being an NBA rotation player. Second, it means — unsurprisingly — that Bronny didn’t feel above playing in Summer League as a second-year player. And lastly, it gives people a chance to see his year-to-year improvement up close.
Most of Bronny’s critics have not watched him play much beyond garbage time minutes and Lakers games where several players sat. But he has made legitimate strides as an offensive player over the last year, and he needs an opportunity to show that on a national stage.
JJ Redick discusses Lakers’ issues vs. Timberwolves
In the blink of an eye, the Lakers 2024-25 season is officially over as they were eliminated by the Timberwolves in five games in the first round.
The Lakers lost Game 5, 103-96, but unlike the other games, the team came out shockingly flat in the first quarter. There were plenty of instances where it felt like Los Angeles had already accepted defeat, but they showed signs of life in the second quarter and kept it close from there.
Minnesota’s defense was as stifling as usual, but the purple and gold did well to fight back and put themselves in position to win the game. However, the Lakers, like in other games in the series, started to fall apart in the closing minutes and that allowed the Timberwolves to close things out.
Following the team’s elimination, head coach JJ Redick says L.A. got the looks they wanted but they just didn’t go down when discussing the fourth-quarter struggles where L.A. again scored less than 20 points.
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