NBA Legend Charles Barkley Was Correct About Lakers Rookie Bronny James

Charles Barkley spoke about Lakers rookie Bronny James at the start of the season.
Oct 17, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; The details of the jersey of Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Oct 17, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; The details of the jersey of Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Bronny James playing for the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the biggest storylines of the 2024-25 NBA season.

After a slow start, the former USC guard has played well in his previous three G League games for South Bay.

However, he struggled when he was given 15 minutes of NBA playing time against the Philadlephia 76ers (on Tuesday).

The 20-year-old finished with three rebounds, one assist and one block while shooting 0/5 from the field and 0/3 from the three-point range.

Bronny James
Jan 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Before the Lakers played their first game of the season, Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke about Bronny.

So far, the NBA legend appears to be correct in his analysis.

Barkley (on October 22) via the NBA on TNT: "Bronny is a prospect. Number one, I am glad he's healthy. I think he should be in the G League. He's not ready to play in the NBA right now. He should be in the G League, because he's not ready to play in the NBA first and foremost. Secondly, there's gonna be some guys coming for his head. He's not ready. He's really a tweener, he's a point guard, two guard. His probably best attribute right now is being a defender. I think to take the pressure off him and let him get better as a player, he should be in the G League."

In total, Bronny has appeared in 13 NBA games for the Lakers.

NBA
Jan 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Bronny James (9) look on during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

He is averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals per contest while shooting 43.4% from the field and 45.8% from the three-point range in three G League regular season games.

Bronny James
Jan 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) on the court during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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Ben Stinar
BEN STINAR

Ben Stinar is the NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation.