Bronny James had momentum on his side all throughout the summer while working towards his dream of rotational minutes and beating out Gabe Vincent for the Los Angeles Lakers' backup point guard spot. That has all quickly been halted during the preseason for the Lakers.
Vincent finished the 2025-26 season on a low note with the franchise. The veteran guard failed to deliver much of anything in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Vincent averaged a dreadful 2.8 points and 1.0 assist in 19.8 minutes per game, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from deep.
The next stage in this positional battle happened at the summer league. Bronny looked like a player who had taken major steps forward in his game. The Lakers felt so confident with James' progression that they pulled him from their final matchup at Vegas, indicating they had seen what they needed to.
Many were fair to buy in on the hype train and entered the lead-up to the regular season with a true belief that Bronny could push Gabe for his spot. The play of both guards in the preseason has quickly reminded everyone of why those beliefs were probably a bit premature.
Vincent’s resurgence has all but shut the door on Bronny’s chances to crack Lakers’ rotation
The main problem for Bronny is his offense continues to lack the polish that is needed to keep him on the court. This preseason has shown James still needs more time to develop his offensive bag before the Lakers can truly feel comfortable giving him real NBA minutes on a consistent basis.
Bronny has averaged 6.8 points per game in the preseason thus far. The issue would be his 25.0 percent shooting from the field that has gotten him there.
Bronny James on his 1-for-12 shooting night:
"I didn’t have my legs under me as much as I wanted to so a lot of them were short.”
(Via @SpectrumSN, h/t @mcten) pic.twitter.com/WSwQSIlQa3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 4, 2025
James should be applauded for his increased aggression and ability to draw free throws and convert them at the line. Bronny is making 84.6 percent of his 3.3 attempts per game from the charity stripe through four preseason games.
On the other hand, his handle remains another element of his game that continues to be a work in progress. James has turned the ball over 2.0 times per game. There is just a feeling of control that is missing from the offensive game as a result.
Vincent, meanwhile, has looked every bit of the veteran that he is. The 29-year-old has delivered 17.0 points per game, shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, to go with 3.3 assists per game.
Vincent will always maintain the label of being a streaky shooter. That will continue to be a drawback of featuring him in the rotation. However, at this point in time, Bronny just does not look ready to change the minutes distribution among the two.