- Bronny James made waves as he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick.
- The son of LeBron James hasn’t had that many opportunities to play this season.
- The Lakers are assigning James to their G League team in South Bay after their game with Philadelphia on Friday.
The Los Angeles Lakers made news when they drafted LeBron James’ son, Bronny, in the 2024 NBA draft. Even though it didn’t appear as Bronny was ready, he made the opening-day squad and got on the floor with his father.
But the Lakers haven’t played Bronny much, so he’s headed to their G League squad in South Bay, and will play their home games in El Segundo.
Bronny Has Played in Four of Eight Games, and 13 minutes in Total
Bronny and LeBron James became the first father-son duo to play in an NBA regular-season game when Bronny checked in late in the Lakers’ 110-103 win over Minnesota in their 2024-2025 debut. The younger James played three minutes in that game, going 0-for-2 from the field with one rebound.
Since then, Bronny has played twice, for five minutes in a 134-110 loss in Cleveland, and he scored his first NBA points in a city that is very close to where he was born, which is Akron. He also played the last minute of a blowout win over Toronto. The 20-year-old then played five scoreless minutes in a 131-114 loss in Memphis, and the decision was made to send Bronny to the G League, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania says that this was the plan all along for Bronny, according to Lakers’ coach JJ Redick. Bronny is also going to only play in South Bay’s home games, and he’ll debut for the team on Saturday. He will still be on the Lakers’ roster when they host Philadelphia on Friday night. So, don’t expect to see Bronny in your NBA player props going forward. He won’t be a part of any first-basket scored bets in the NBA.
Bronny’s NBA Rookie of the Year odds were getting a lot of betting action ahead of the season, and he’s still on the board at many NBA betting sites. But those odds are out there simply because Bronny is LeBron’s son, and no one expects him to even play enough minutes to have a chance. Presently, Bronny’s mission should be to become a dependable NBA player, and that’s what the G League is for.
How Will This Affect the Lakers?
The Lakers have bigger problems to deal with as they’re 4-4 ahead of the Philly game on Friday. Anthony Davis has been terrific to start the season, averaging 32.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. However, Davis missed the loss against Memphis with a heel injury, and that meant LeBron James had to play 35 points and scored 39 points. That is too much of a load for James, who turns 40 on December 30. He can handle it, but the older James will be exhausted for the stretch run to the playoffs.
Outside of Austin Reaves, the Lakers don’t have much else. D’Angelo Russell was benched and criticized by Redick for a lack of effort in the Memphis game. Russell is a free agent next season, and his $18.7 million expiring contract could be used as trade bait at some point this season. But apart from that, the Lakers don’t seem to have that many moves.
The Bronny-LeBron issue is the last thing on the Lakers’ minds. Now that they’ve played together in a game, the Lakers can focus on winning games and getting back to the postseason.
