Bronny James to Only Play Home Games for South Bay Lakers

Jeremy Hanna | Nov 13, 2024

Nov 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (0) and guard Bronny James (9) during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Bronny James remains a divisive figure in the NBA.

Despite finishing his first season at USC with an average 4.8 points, 2.8 total rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals per game across 25 games, Bronny James was selected with the 55th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

This was largely because his father, modern basketball legend LeBron James, is the leader of the Lakers. While head coach JJ Redick and others said this was in order to bring Bronny on and develop him into an NBA-caliber player, a new revelation says otherwise.

On an episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that Bronny James will only be playing home games with the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles' G League affiliate.

“He’s only going to play in the South Bay Lakers’ home games," Windhorst said. "He’s only going to kind of be a part-time G League player, and he’s not getting on United Airlines to fly to these road games."

This has struck multiple NBA analysts and fans as an odd move for a franchise wanting to develop a young talent. And Windhorst took notice.

"I know he’s getting somewhat special treatment and nepotism. That’s fine; honestly, I don’t care," Windhorst continued. "Like I said, it’s normal. Now, I think it’s actually detrimental to him. I don’t like that."

"I don’t know whose idea it was, but obviously, the Lakers are fine with it—they’re doing it. On this particular instance, I think that’s gone 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 at this point.”

It makes you wonder what exactly the goal with Bronny is for the Lakers. In the limited time he's played this season (2.7 minutes per game across six games), Bronny has averaged 0.7 points, 0/3 assists, 0.2 total rebounds, and 0.2 steals.

In a single game with South Bay, his numbers haven't really improved. In a win over the Salt Lake City Stars on Saturday, Bronny recorded six points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. He was two-for-nine on field goals and wne 0-for-four on 3-point attempts.

All of this was over 31 minutes.

It's clear that Bronny needs a bit more time to become the role player people think he can be. The question now is if the Lakers will actually let him get that time.

More Lakers: How Many Points Did Bronny James Score in Win Over Raptors?