When Will Bronny James Return? Latest Injury Update on South Bay Lakers Rookie

Matt Levine | Dec 1, 2024

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers made all sorts of noise when they decided to draft rookie guard Bronny James out of USC in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Despite a poor showing as a freshman with the Trojans, James was able to impress teams enough during his workouts and showings.

While many people believe that Los Angeles played favorites with James, it's only partly true. Other teams around the league were interested in drafting James, even as a ploy to attempt to lure his father to their organization.

The rookie has been moving between the NBA with the Lakers and the G League with the South Bay Lakers. This is a plan that Los Angeles came up with to give him as many reps as possible as he grows his game even more.

However, James has been out for a few weeks due to a left heel injury. It has seen him miss time in both leagues and the hope is that he can return to game action soon.

The biggest update that we have is that James has already been ruled out for the Lakers matchup against the Utah Jazz on Sunday. The guard didn't suit up for South Bay on Saturday against Santa Cruz either.

James has been only playing home games for South Bay so if he can heel up, he will likely have his next opportunity to play on Dec. 6 against Salt Lake City. Los Angeles has been criticized for how they have handled James, with many pointing to him getting preferential treatment due to who he is.

Many people feel that James should earn his keep with the team and he can do that by playing in as many games as possible. James still has a long way to go to become a full-time player at the NBA level.

His offensive game is a big work in progress but Los Angeles is doing what it can to give him time to work on everything. Luckily for James, he has demonstrated strong instincts on the defensive end of the floor.

His defense is his best asset at this point and he has been able to carry that over to the league. But if James can't show Los Angeles that he is improving, once he returns to the court, the Lakers could have a tough decision to make down the line.

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