The journey of Bronny James, son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, is one of the most watched stories surrounding the team this season. Bronny has played only sparingly for the Lakers thus far, as expected, but he will also spend time with the South Bay Lakers of the G League.
This makes sense because Bronny needs live game replays to develop and the G League is the best place for him to do that. However, It was reported that Bronny would only play in South Bay’s home games and not actually traveling with them as he splits time with the Lakers’ main roster.
As for why the Lakers have chosen to go this direction for his development, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst opened up about the reasoning in his recent episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast:
“He will only play in the South Bay Lakers home games. He’ll only be a part-time G League player of sorts, and he won’t be hopping on United Airlines to fly to these road games. I know he gets somewhat special treatment and favoritism. That’s fine; Honestly, I don’t care. Like I said, it’s normal. Now I think it’s actually harmful to him. I don’t like that. I don’t know whose idea it was, but the Lakers are clearly fine with it, they’re doing it. In this particular case, I think that went too far, and I don’t think it benefits Bronny. I don’t think it benefits the South Bay Lakers, and I don’t think it benefits LeBron right now.”
There is no doubt that there is preferential treatment and nepotism with Bronny, but these things happen across the sport and in the world in general. Bronny isn’t the first or the last person to benefit from who his father is, and despite that, he works extremely hard and the entire Lakers franchise appreciates him.
However, it is worth asking whether this is best for his development. It makes things a little more difficult for the South Bay Lakers, as they will have to constantly adjust between home and road games depending on whether Bronny plays or not, and he will sacrifice those valuable reps and minutes he would get in the G .League to be on the main Lakers roster and rarely see playing time.
There is a balance and the Lakers are trying to walk that fine line, but anything related to Bronny will be closely monitored, as has been evident since the moment he was drafted. The Lakers have also shown that plans can change depending on the circumstances, so that could be the case for Bronny down the road as well.
Lakers’ Bronny James is embracing the buzz he brings to the G League
Bronnie James recently made his G League debutfinishing with six points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the South Bay Lakers’ win over the Salt Lake City Stars.
Tickets for the game were sold out and there was much more media attention than for a normal G League game and afterward Bronny spoke embracing the buzz around him.
“I’ve seen all the buzz about me going to G,” James said. “It’s just a great experience for me to play my game and get a few minutes under me. I’m just excited about it.”