Bronnie James had an interesting rookie season as the Lakers’ end of the bench. The NBA Insider believes his role on the team could be different next year.
One of the main stories in the NBA at the beginning of the season was the Los Angeles Lakers, who drafted Bronnie James. He admitted he was putting a lot of pressure on his father, LeBron James.
The 20-year-old doesn’t mean that all the noise is affecting him too much. Bronnie said there’s more to come when offering a verdict for his rookie campaign.
His G League performance caught the eye of everyone. And he made only one NBA start, but he was impressed with 17 points against a good Milwaukee backsteam.
This doesn’t mean that young James doesn’t have much room for improvement. But he does enough to be optimistic about his sophomore season.
Bronnie made just 6.7 minutes per game in 27 appearances last season. Most of it was garbage time at the end of the game.
However, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who covers the LA Lakers, appears to think he can break the rotation during the 2025-26 NBA season.
“If he continues this trajectory, I think he could become a rotation player by next year’s midseason,” McMenamine said on the Hear District Podcast.
“He could really have an impact on the game defensively as he uses his athletic ability to hit the ball and get on the lanes passing by, recharge, chase and chase the block.”
NBA Brony’s statistics aren’t really eye-catching, but they show the leap he has to make if he wants to be a regular next season.
On the 27 outings, he averaged 2.3 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He showed off a great defensive chop. This may be a ticket to further play time.
The USC alumni had better numbers in the G League and played 11 games with the South Bay Lakers. He averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
His shooting has also improved considerably. He averaged eight or more attempts, shooting 38% from the 3-point range.
Many will continue to doubt King James’ son, but he appears to be following a good trajectory to prove that all suspects are wrong.