Bronny James hasn’t had the typical rookie season for a second-round pick.
Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers used the 55th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft on the former USC Trojan, there has been no shortage of attention placed on the 20-year-old.
JJ Redick is caught with an unexpected celebration after winning his debut with the Lakers
So far Bronny has gone through his fair share of growing pains, trying to make the most of his sparse playing time. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped the media and fans from dissecting his progress at every turn.
Recently Bronny was profiled by The Athletic’s Joe Gardon. The story points out that Bronny is still the same kid he was years ago while growing as a player – as his play in the G League for the South Bay Lakers has shown.
His scoring numbers have improved while playing in the G League, and while that hasn’t resulted in a steady increase in minutes for JJ Redick and the Lakers, it sure is a positive for Bronny given what he’s gone through.
Bronny slowly improving
His college career was temporarily derailed when he experienced a cardiac arrest during practice last year.
While speaking with The Athletic, Bronny admits that the health scare shook his confidence.
“But going out and getting reps under my belt after that scare, it’s been good for my confidence,” he said.
Due to his health concerns, Bronny only played about half a season for USC. As a result he doesn’t have a lot of on-court experience to fall back on against high-level talent.
Some are beginning to wonder if Bronny’s play in the G League, where he is averaging 17 points per game, has helped vindicate the Lakers decision to draft him, despite critics stating he was only taken because he is LeBron’s son.
“I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day,” said Bronny.
With the NBA slowly heading towards the playoffs, don’t expect Bronny to see the court all that much over the next few weeks. Despite that, his progress in recent times has shown that becoming a regular part of the rotation over the next few years may no longer be out of the equation.
