The Lakers' decision to keep Bronny James out of G League road games has sparked a debate about the level of preferential treatment the team is giving LeBron's son.
Bronny, 20, played just one collegiate season at USC but didn't register on the stat sheet before being selected by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
ESPN's Shams Charania sheds more light on the Lakers' thinking on how to use Bronny. Bronny played sparingly during his time in the NBA, splitting time with the South Bay Lakers, a G League team.
“Bronny James is not your average, everyday G League player,” Charania said. On “The Pat McAfee Show” on tuesday.
“I don't know if it's for safety reasons, but when he's on the road to a G League game, there's a different level of fanfare, and when he's on that G League team, there's a different level of fanfare. is different. How do you manage it on the street? I don't think the door is necessarily completely closed on him playing in road games as the G League season progresses, but that's the plan the Lakers have at this point, and the Lakers want him to play. We want him to continue to shuttle, go back and forth and spend as much time as possible on the active roster.”
Fellow ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst first reported last week on his podcast, “The Hoop Collective,” that Bronny would not be flying on commercial flights used by G League teams to travel to road games, but since his high school days, Windhorst, who has covered LeBron since then, believes so. “Harmful” to Bronies.
He also said he now believes the special treatment Bronny is receiving from the Lakers is “going too far.”
Bronny most recently played in the G League against the Stockton Kings on Sunday, posting four points, two rebounds and two assists on 2-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes.
He hasn't played in an NBA game since Nov. 10, when he clocked just 1 minute, 40 seconds, but has appeared in six of the Lakers' 14 games this season, averaging less than three minutes per game.
There is an idea to make Bronny a full-time player in the G League in order to develop him, but Charania said that would be unusual for a second-round draft pick.
“It's very typical for second-round picks to go back and forth to the G League, but it would be unusual for a second-round pick to potentially just spend time in the G League,” he said Tuesday. . “I think people are like, 'Why is he only in the G League?'” Well, you're a second-round pick. He has three years guaranteed in his contract. He's an NBA player who will spend time in the G League. ”
