From the moment the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, head coach JJ Redick has called him a developmental project that the franchise believes can be a contributor down the line.
Some scoffed at this idea, feeling his selection was simply a matter of appeasing Lakers superstar LeBron James by drafting his son, but Bronny has quietly played very well down in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. In nine regular season G League games, Bronny is averaging 20.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals while knocking down 36.1% of his 3-pointers.
There remains a long way to go in Bronny’s development, but Redick is already seeing a lot of growth and the Lakers coach praised the G League staff while discussing where he feels James has improved most.
“I think he’s really embraced the G League,” Redick recently said of Bronny. “Zach (Guthrie) has done a wonderful job with his development, that staff has done a wonderful job with his development and obviously our crew as well having communication with them and getting updates. When he’s been with us, I think he’s been fantastic. In practices and lately in games, I think he’s been really solid.
“The biggest area of improvement is probably just his playmaking, and I don’t mean that just in terms of passing. But just his ability to play on and off the ball as a decision-maker, either a scorer or a passer. And with that, his confidence level and level of aggression has grown. For a young player, those are two really important things.”
Bronny has recently cracked Redick’s rotation with the Lakers due to injuries, although he still mainly only sees minutes during garbage time. But his improvement and overall confidence has been noticeable when he’s on the floor. In fact, Bronny has scored in each of his last seven appearances for the Lakers and crowds, both home and road, continue to go crazy for him every time. He notably put up a career-high 17 points and five assists against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The pressure on James is immense, but he has kept his head down and continued to put in the work to get better and the results are already showing.
JJ Redick: LeBron James and Rui Hachimura unlikely to practice before returning for Lakers
While Bronny James continues to improve, his father LeBron James is trying to work his way back from a groin strain. Meanwhile, Rui Hachimura has been dealing with a knee injury and both seem to be nearing a return. Usually, players would need to get a full practice in before returning, but Lakers coach JJ Redick feels the schedule likely won’t allow that.
“Very unlikely that there’s stay-ready games for Rui and LeBron,” Redick said before Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. “I’d have to look at the next three weeks, but very unlikely they practice. I think there’s a practice in April. That’s just the reality of playing every other day. Even if we do do something on the court, there’s not gonna be any live contact in between game days.
“So they’re just gonna have to ease their way back in. Some of us have had to do that, I’ve had to do it a few times. It’s ideal to have a practice, but I just don’t think that’s realistic right now… Like we’ve done all year, we’ll work with Leroy (Sims) and our medical team, obviously with LeBron and Mike (Mancias) who knows his body better than anybody and make sure these guys are covered and safe.”
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