Bronny James’ rookie season is officially in the books and now he looks to prepare for an important sophomore season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
James headlines the Lakers’ Summer League team and appeared in two games during their California Classic exhibition. James looked solid in his debut in the win against the Miami Heat, though he only played about 10 minutes as he ramps up his conditioning. The young guard played in the finale against the San Antonio Spurs and while he played more minutes he struggled to replicate his production from the previous game.
While James continues to get back into basketball shape this summer, he’s already making an impact off the floor as one of the Summer League squad’s de facto leaders. Following his California Classic debut, James talked about his natural leadership status and how his teammates have responded to him.
“To be honest, just trying to go out there and be myself,” Bronny said. “I’ve always been told that I have a leader kind of personality, so just trying to go out there and be the right example for my team and everything else will follow. And the guys…we have an amazing group of guys that are very coachable and very good people so there’s no problem whatsoever when it comes to that.”
Despite his fame and popularity, James is about as even-keeled as one can hope for given his status and remains true to himself both as a player and person. From the sound of it, James isn’t so much of a vocal leader as someone who leads by example, and he’s certainly held up well despite outside noise and criticism.
While Bronny doesn’t project to be a part of the parent team’s rotation for the 2025-26 season, these Summer League reps will be valuable for him as he continues his development path. Through two games of Summer League, James has shown how effective he can be as a point of attack defender and seems more confident letting it fly on the offensive end.
Las Vegas Summer League will be a more difficult test for James and the rest of Los Angeles as the game’s top prospects are all expected to suit up. James has a lot of growing left to do, but the early returns from his sophomore season are encouraging.
Bronny James discusses plan for Summer League
Bronny James is working his way back to full conditioning and revealed the current plan is to see how he feels after each game in Summer League before determining his availability.
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