The Los Angeles Lakers have perhaps the most unique storyline in the NBA on their roster for the 2024-25 season. Head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers selected Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, joining LeBron James and becoming the first father-son duo in league history.
Bronny is viewed as more of a project, hence the late second-round selection. He has some NBA-ready skillsets, but needs to become more of a threat from the perimeter given his stature. But he’ll certainly see some time on an NBA court this season, as Redick has hinted at playing LeBron and Bronny together sooner rather than later.
And while Redick says he has nothing set in stone, there are conversations taking place as to what that moment might look like.
“We don’t have anything planned, per se, in terms of a commitment to do it this way,” Redick said. “We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we’ve gotten into some specifics of what that might look like. But we haven’t committed to anything. And obviously, there’s a discussion to be had once we’re all together with Bronny and LeBron too. They should be a part of that discussion as well.”
And while some may see it as difficult to navigate coaching a father and son on the same team, Redick has yet to view things that way. In fact, he’s excited for the opportunity to coach Bronny given all the tools and personality he brings with him.
“I don’t look at it as a challenge. It’s unique from any other challenge of coaching a player or coaching a relationship,” Redick said. “Bronny, I feel very fortunate that I get to coach him because he’s young and he’s hungry, and he’s got a lot of inherent skillsets that we can really mold into a really good NBA player.
“On top of that, he’s a fantastic kid. He’s extremely coachable. He’s got the right spirit and energy every single day. So I hate saying this, because you asked me the question, but it’s not something I’ve really thought of as a challenge, if that makes sense.”
While Bronny is expected to spend much of the season developing in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, Redick is going to have chances to coach him at the NBA level and see him alongside LeBron. And when they do eventually share the court, Redick certainly won’t see that moment as a challenge.
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