After an up-and-down rookie campaign with the Lakers, Bronny James isn’t shying away from the work he knows it’ll take to earn real minutes in year two.
“It’s definitely made me think about being more aggressive on that end of the floor, but I can’t lose that defensive drive that will get me on the floor because there’s gonna be guys that can score 15, 20 a game,” James told reporters Thursday. “I’m most likely not going to be that guy right now. To get myself on the floor, I’ve got to be a defensive menace. That’s my main focus, getting conditioned this year. It’s been shown that I know how to score the ball a little bit, I’m staying true to that, but also focusing on the defensive end.”
Bronny James on the Lakers offseason, his dad opting in and more pic.twitter.com/KNjtaa1S5t
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) July 2, 2025
The 19-year-old made significant strides in the G League, averaging 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists after a slower start in the Tipoff Tournament. He closed his first season with a career-high 39 points in a win over Santa Cruz, but NBA minutes were harder to come by. Bronny appeared in 27 games for the Lakers and averaged just 6.7 minutes per outing.
Even so, his improvement as a scorer hasn’t gone unnoticed. The question now is whether he can translate that G League production to the NBA while maintaining the defensive intensity that has already caught the eye of Lakers coaches.
The path to a bigger role may not be easy, but Bronny seems locked in on earning it the hard way.
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