Charles Barkley Criticizes Bronny James Situation, Puts Full Blame on Lakers

Ricardo Sandoval | 5 Hours Ago

Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are among the more popular and polarizing teams in all sports. The Lakers are not only that, but they are also one of the more successful sports franchises. 

It has been like this for quite a while, and it has only expanded thanks to future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James' presence on the team. James' time in L.A. has been a mix of good, bad, and ugly. However, there has never been a dull moment, and it only increased when the Lakers decided to draft his son, guard Bronny James, in the 2024 NBA Draft late in the second round. 

Bronny's time in the NBA has been what many expected it to be: a ton of screen smoke. That is what we expected when he plays, at least as a rookie. The hope was that Bronny would develop his game in the G League, and while that remains the case, the Lakers are taking a different approach.

The Lakers are only having Bronny play home games for the G League affiliate South Bay Lakers and revert back to the Lakers’ NBA squad when the South Bay team hits the road.

That plan is not looking like a success, and it doesn't seem healthy for Bronny's game in the long run. Many have been vocal about the Lakers' plan for Bronny, including NBA Hall of Famer and analyst Charles Barkley. 

Barkley, who is never shy about speaking his mind, did so in the Bronny situation. 

“Awful,” said Barkley when asked about the Lakers' handling of Bronny  on The Bettor Angle show on the BetQL Network. “It was so funny, I was actually taping The Match with Ken Griffey Jr. way before the season started. He was telling me him and his dad were gonna go out to that first game.

“Then I was with my foolish friends later and they were like ‘You think Bronny is gonna make the opening day roster?’ I said there is a 100 percent chance. There is no way in the world Nike is sending Ken Griffey Jr. out there and Bronny is not getting on the court with his dad. That’s a Nike commercial waiting to happen.

“I thought it was great, a little ceremony his first game. But the kid is not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G-League so he can play basketball. He’s not gonna get better sitting on the bench. And also, this thing where he’s only gonna play homes games. It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him.

“I don’t think they are doing Bronny any favors. They have just handled this thing very bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I really like everything LeBron has done. But it’s a bad look for him (too) in my opinion.”

Things have not been great for Bronny in the NBA or G League. In two games with the South Bay Lakers, he has averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 assists in 28.5 minutes.

Bronny has yet to make significant strides, but there's still plenty of time to do so this season. 

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