Bronny James’ rookie season started off historically, as he made his NBA debut in the first game of the season, thus making him and his dad, LeBron James, the first father-son duo to share a court in league history. But since then, the younger James has spent much more time not on the court than actually on it. Through the Los Angeles Lakers’ first 16 games, Bronny James has played in just six for a total of 16 minutes, averaging 2.7 minutes in games in which he takes the court, and just one minute per game across all Lakers games.
While that’s to be expected for a second-round rookie, who was the fourth-to-last player drafted, what hasn’t been expected is the Lakers’ handling of the son of the league’s all-time leading scorer. Most players of James’ draft status would be honing their craft in the G-League, where they’d gain valuable playing time against other professionals. However, the Lakers have decided to play James only in home G-League games, with their G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. James is not accompanying the developmental team on any road trips, which further reduces the opportunities that James can take the court.
One person who is decidedly against this strategy is Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. While he liked that Bronny and LeBron got to share the court in the opening game, which Barkley dubbed “a Nike commercial waiting to happen,” Barkley is not a fan of the way that the Lakers, and LeBron, are handling Bronny.
“And also, this thing where he’s only gonna play homes games. It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him, it’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip, and there’s a player you ain’t seen in a week or two. And then you feel that you probably gotta play him. So I don’t think they are doing Bronny any favors, and they have just handled this thing really bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I really like everything LeBron has done. But this is a bad look for him, in my opinion.”
The South Bay Lakers have played five games, three at home and two on the road. James played in the opener at home, missed a road contest, played in the second home game, missed the second away matchup, and then sat out the third home game due to a heel injury. He is receiving much more playing time with these Lakers, averaging 28.5 minutes per game, but has just 5.0 points per contest.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t publicly stated why they are limiting James to just home games with the South Bay affiliate, but multiple NBA reporters have intimated that it has to do with potential security concerns. League insider Shams Charania said there’s a level of fanfare with James that an essentially minor league organization simply might not be able to handle.
Additionally, reporter Brian Windhorst, who has been covering LeBron James since he was in high school, noted that unlike NBA teams, which have chartered flights, the G-League teams fly commercially. That only adds to the security concerns that would accompany Bronny James, who is undoubtedly the most famous player in the G-League.
Regardless of why James isn’t accompanying the South Bay Lakers on the road, Barkley’s first point about James needing to play basketball to get better is especially true given how James’s lone college season went. Due to the cardiac arrest he suffered last July, James got a late start to his college career and played sparingly with the USC Trojans. He ranked seventh on the team in minutes played and eighth in total points, which stunted his progress as a former top prospect.
Even though Barkley, and many others, aren’t fans of this strategy, head coach JJ Redick stated early in the season that this would be the approach for Bronny, and that everyone, including LeBron, was onboard.
