Los Angeles Lakers Bronny James’ career night had its pros and cons. En route to caressing the Crypto.com Arena nylon for 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, dishing 10 assists off the bench, and swatting one shot, the Milwaukee Bucks Hulk-smashed the depleted Lakers by 29 points. The silver lining of the Lakers 118-89 defeat is that Bronny had a decent night on his own accord.
Bronny James development has been a Lakers sub-plot all season
Lakers guard Bronny James (9) handles the ball in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The margin of defeat can’t be laid at his feet despite his -36 plus/minus. He’s still a 20-year-old rookie, and the Lakers were resting virtually their entire starting lineup. Meanwhile, for the sake of comparison, Bronny’s scoring output matched 23-year-old first-round pick Dalton Knecht’s for the team high. In recent weeks, the discourse around Bronny has stemmed from the mouth of Stephen A. Smith's pontificating about the Lakers rookie and his ensuing run-in with LeBron James. In that sense, Bronny’s night was a welcome change to the narrative around his game.
In his post-game presser, Bronny discussed the importance of getting to demonstrate his growth against a playoff team featuring a former MVP.
“I was given an opportunity today to show what I’ve been working on, sitting on the bench, in the G-League, getting reps, stuff like that. Just constantly putting in my head that they believe in me.” Bronny explained.
Related Los Angeles Lakers NewsArticle continues below
“I was given a chance today to show what I’ve been working on, sitting on the bench, in the G-League…just constantly putting in my head that they believe in me.”
Bronny James on his comfortability in today’s minutes 🗣️
(via @SpectrumSN)pic.twitter.com/ptay1mATpN
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 21, 2025
Expand Tweet
Bronny has come along slowly in his rookie year. He's spent most of his time bouncing between the edge of the Lakers bench and hooping for the South Bay Lakers. In a limited sample size off the bench for the Lakers NBA roster, he’s averaged 2.3 points per game on 35 percent shooting and shot 27 percent beyond the arc in 5.8 minutes. Bronny's previous career-high before Thursday night was a nine-point burst in eight minutes against the tanking Utah Jazz.
However, in nine games on the Lakers G-League team, he’s delivered, averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 assists, 5.2 boards, and 1.8 steals in nearly 34 minutes per contest. If Bronny had taken a different path, he would have been buckling down for an NCAA Tournament first-round matchup this week. However, for a developmental second-round prospect, the pressure of getting 30 minutes with the Lakers on a night when much of the rotation rested is probably tantamount to appearing in a March Madness.
Bronny is unlikely to appear in the Lakers playoff rotation, but his performance likely won’t be the last he is seen for extended minutes before this season winds down. The only question is whether he can build on this momentum or if this was an aberration.