Bronny James remains one of the more intriguing pieces on this Los Angeles Lakers roster. The son of LeBron James has shown a lot of growth through his rookie season and was impressive throughout Summer League as well leading some to wonder whether he could potentially crack JJ Redick’s rotation in his second season.
While Bronny will never reach the heights that of his father, he does have potential to be a solid role player who thrives on defense and as a secondary creator. And he has a couple of veteran players on the Lakers roster to learn from who play that exact role are Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent.
Following a recent Lakers practice, Redick spoke about Smart and Vincent being role models for Bronny, and leaders overall on the team, noting that being mentors is something the coaches have spoken to them about.
“Huge. Gabe as well,” Redick responded when asked about Smart being a role model for Bronny. “I mean those two guys are studs and even when they were limited participants, they were leading. Those guys know that’s part of their role, something we’ve already talked about just in terms of their leadership and they’ve both been great.”
Having someone to look at, study and model your game after is extremely important and those veterans taking on that role and helping young players develop is massive for a young player’s growth in the league. Having LeBron as your father obviously helps, but players like Smart and Vincent know exactly what needs to be done to thrive in the role Bronny is best suited for and can help him lock into that mindset.
The fact that Redick and the Lakers coaches have spoken to the veterans about this to ensure they will mentor Bronny and the other young players on the team shows that they recognize the importance of this role and Smart and Vincent embracing this will only benefit the Lakers as a whole.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves praises Bronny James for preseason play
Bronny James’ stats may not stand out so far in the preseason, but his play has still impressed Austin Reaves so far with the Lakers guard recently praising Bronny for his growth and how he’s looked throughout the summer and training camp.
“He’s become a really good player,” Reaves said. “We went golfing the other day and that was the first thing I told him. We were driving down to the fairway on hole one and I was like, ‘I just need to let you know that in preseason and even before that, you’ve been one of the better players out on the floor almost every day.’ Just continue to do that. He’s a good kid, has a good head on his shoulders, is all about the right stuff and just wants to compete and get better, so shout out to him.”
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