Bronny James will continue to share the court with his legendary father, LeBron James, during the upcoming road trip for the Los Angeles Lakers. After this stretch, Bronny is expected to shuttle between the active roster and the Lakers’ South Bay G League affiliate, according to an ESPN report.
In a historic moment, Bronny and LeBron became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game during Tuesday’s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Following home games on Friday and Saturday, the Lakers will embark on a five-game road trip starting on October 28 against the Phoenix Suns and concluding on November 6 in Memphis, with stops in Cleveland, Toronto, and Detroit along the way.
A highlight of the trip will be Wednesday’s matchup against the Cavaliers, marking a sort of homecoming for LeBron, who was drafted by Cleveland as the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and spent his first seven years there. Bronny was born in October 2004, just as LeBron was entering his second season with the Cavaliers.
Both LeBron and Lakers head coach JJ Redick have indicated that Bronny will spend time developing his skills in the G League.
“Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player no matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team and him continuing to get better and better and better. His job is to put the work in and get better and better, just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable, and he’s going to hold us accountable. And if we all do that, we all get better because we’re all one team. We’re a reflection of South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us," LeBron stated at media day in September.
First-year coach Redick has expressed a commitment to establishing an elite player development program through the G League.
“For us, prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like, case study one, because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing, there’s a lot to like about his game. And as we sort of build out our player development program holistically, he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player," Redick said in July, per ESPN.
In the season opener against the Timberwolves, Bronny did not score in three minutes of play. During the preseason, he averaged 16.2 minutes and 4.2 points per game over six games.
LeBron - Bronny duo
The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most prestigious sports franchises, celebrated a historic moment on Tuesday night when LeBron James and his son Bronny became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game. LeBron, at 39 years old and in his record-tying 22nd NBA season, started the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bronny, 20, made his NBA debut by joining his father on the court with four minutes left in the second quarter. The pair entered the game simultaneously, eliciting fan cheers at Crypto.com Arena.
