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Lakers News: JJ Redick Calls Out Critics Going After Bronny James

The Los Angeles head coach lashed out at his rookie guard's haters.

Alex Kirschenbaum

Mar 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA: Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) looks to pass against Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA: Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) looks to pass against Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers sat six of their top eight players, including four starters, against the Milwaukee Bucks in a Crypto.com Arena defeat on Thursday night. Given that L.A. was playing its sixth game in eight nights, and that several key cogs were already banged up, it seems that head coach JJ Redick made a calculated scheduling decision to rest some critical contributors.

The Lakers went 3-3 in that stretch, although they were without 21-time All-Star power forward LeBron James and starting small forward Rui Hachimura in all of those contests.

Read More: Austin Reaves Surprisingly Ruled Out of Game vs Bucks

One benefit of sitting All-Stars Luka Doncic and James, starters Austin Reaves and Hachimura, and defense-first reserve forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt was that the Lakers' young guns could get meaningful reps.

In something of a surprise, rookie guard Bronny James showed out in the 118-89 loss. The 20-year-old USC product, LeBron James' oldest son, poured in an NBA career-high, team-leading 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while also chipping in five dimes, three boards and a block across 30 minutes of action.

Prior to the game, Bronny hadn't made much of an impact thus far with the Lakers proper, although he's been balling out with L.A.'s G League affiliate in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers.

After the game, Redick called out the younger James' critics for how they've been handling his first pro season, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

"I've just been impressed with the person that he is," Redick said. "And to deal with ... frankly, bulls--- because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family. And the way LeBron and Savannah have raised him was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer."

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The loss dropped the Lakers to a 43-26 record on the year and kept them at the No. 4 seed in the competitive Western Conference playoff picture. Milwaukee improved to a 39-30 record and is one game behind the 40-29 Indiana Pacers for the No. 4 seed homecourt advantage in the East.

Across nine regular season G League bouts, Bronny is averaging 20.6 points while slashing .431/.361/.800, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per.

Bronny's big night improved his NBA averages to 2.3 points on .354/.269/.750 shooting splits, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 22 games, playing mostly mop-up minutes.

Having the belief of his coach could ultimately be the key to unlocking meaningful rotation minutes down the line for Bronny James, although he'll likely be on the outside looking in this year if L.A. can stay healthy.

More Los Angeles Lakers:

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Latest Trade Proposal Has Lakers Finally Land 5-Time All-Star Guard

For the latest Los Angeles Lakers news and notes, stay glued to Los Angeles Lakers On SI.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.

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