Mar 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) inbound the ball in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Lakers rookie and former USC Trojans guard Bronny James had one of the best games of his young career against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, and Lakers coach JJ Redick praised James after his performance.
Bronny has been the subject of a number of criticisms that accuse his father, Lebron James, of abusing his influence within the Lakers organization, leading to Los Angeles drafting Bronny James out of USC in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. However, Redick was quick to affirm Bronny’s ability as an NBA player after the loss to the Bucks.
“Since day one, I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is,” Redick said in his postgame press conference. “And to deal with, frankly, bull**** because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family and the way LeBron and Savannah (James) have raised him. It was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer. He was certainly going to be an NBA player, and I still believe that he’ll be an NBA player.”
Mar 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at press conference at the Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Lakers lost to the Bucks 118-89, but Bronny James registered a career highs with 17 points and five assists in 30 minutes, the most time on the floor that Bronny has had all season. During his one season at USC, Bronny averaged 4.8 points per game, and the most he scored in a single game in college was 15 points.
Los Angeles had a number of key contributors out with injury in the against Milwaukee, including Lebron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, clearing the path for Bronny James and his career night. In fact, Bronny finished tied with Los Angeles small forward Dalton Knecht for the team lead in scoring.
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Knecht and Bronny come from the same draft class, with Knecht being the Lakers’ first round pick in 2024. Knecht has been a key member of Los Angeles’ rotation in his rookie season while Bronny has switched between the G League and the NBA.
As a result, Bronny has been able to develop his basketball talents while also facing NBA superstars on other nights, like Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. In the first half, Bronny was being guarded by Antetokounmpo one-on-one, and the Lakers rookie attempted to drive to the paint. He was able to get a step past Antetokounmpo, but the former Trojan lost the ball out of bounds.
Mar 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) inbound the ball in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“He’s a much bigger guy than me, so I just got to find a way to get around him somehow. May have got fouled. That’s up for argument, but it is what it is,” Bronny said in his postgame presser.
After the game, Redick spoke about his first impression of Bronny. Redick was not the coach of the Lakers when Los Angeles drafted Bronny. Still, Redick paid close attention to Bronny as a prospect, and
“I texted (Lebron), and I was like ‘Man, Bronny has his head on straight, like he gets it,'” said Redick.
