Lakers News: Magic Johnson Doesn’t Believe Bronny James is Ready for NBA

The Hall of Famer got honest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

February 18, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former Los Angeles Laker star Magic Johnson is recognized during the 2018 NBA All Star Game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Former 12-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson has achieved enough in basketball (he's won five titles, and three MVP awards) and business (he's worth over a billion dollars) to be utterly unafraid of speaking his mind.

Johnson also famously had a prior grievance with former front office colleague Rob Pelinka. Pelinka had served as L.A. general manager under Johnson, hired as team president in 2017, before supplanting Johnson in 2019 when he abruptly retired. The Lakers went on to immediately win a championship, thanks to a deep roster constructed by Pelinka around All-NBA superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

All that said, it's perhaps no surprise that the 6-foot-9 Showtime-era former superstar had some harsh things to say about Pelinka's selection of former USC Trojans backup point guard Bronny James, eldest son of LeBron, with the No. 55 pick in this past June's 2024 NBA Draft.

"If I'm Bronny, I would tell my dad just let me play in the G League all season so that I can develop," Johnson said. "He needs playing time. He doesn't need to be sitting on the Lakers bench and not playing. That's not a knock against him. He's just not ready. He needs to develop more, and then he will be ready because he has some great talent and skills. But he needs to develop those skills at a much better clip if he wants to play 15, 20 minutes a night in the NBA or more."

Bronny James had an underwhelming NCAA debut for the 15-18 Cardinal and Gold in 2023-24. Following a cardiac arrest in the offseason, the 6-foot-2 point guard missed training camp and the team's first month of action.

When he did return, Bronny James barely resembled the four-star recruit he had been coming out of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth. Across 25 games (six starts), Bronny averaged 4.8 points on paltry .366/.267/.676 shooting splits, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals a night.

First-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick has already signaled his intention to play the raw 19-year-old mostly with the Lakers' G League affiliate in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers. That said, Bronny and LeBron James are expected to at least suit up alongside each other briefly early on this year, and in so doing they'll become the first-ever father-son duo to play simultaneously on an NBA floor.

More Lakers: Rob Pelinka Compares Austin Reaves' Ceiling to NBA All-Star's Rise