Bronny James has proven he deserves to be a Laker

You used to root for Bronny James to come into video games sarcastically. Or because you just wished to see historical past.

But now I guess you need to see Bronny come into the sport to hoop.

That’s a fairly cool plot twist.

Especially because LeBron James’ son has had to develop his recreation with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders, the only expectation being that he would fail to quantity to something resembling an NBA participant.

But over the past couple seasons, Bronny has developed into an NBA reserve who is price rostering, whether or not or not his dad is an element of this system.

Shocker, proper?

For the second consecutive recreation Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick called the second-year guard’s quantity for important minutes of motion.

Not to full rubbish time chores. Not as a gimmick to please the King. But because he needed a ball-handler he might trust after the common rotation received wonky in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

For the second consecutive recreation, Bronny helped buoy the Lakers. In 4 minutes, he had a deflection and drained a three-pointer that not only keyed a much-needed 9-0 Lakers run but also was the first father-to-son assisted basket in NBA historical past, coming on a move from LeBron.

Trailblazers, like at Sierra Canyon High School. That’s where Bronny and the Nets’ Ziaire Williams had been teammates before Bronny and his dad, “Big Bron,” had been Williams’ opponents Friday.

His former teammate sees in Bronny what his current teammates do: A tough employee who wants only to nurture his confidence to be in a position to contribute in the NBA.

“He’ll be great,” Williams said. “Especially starting off on the defensive end. He can guard one through four, pick up full [court,] have good ball pressure. On the offensive end, he’s a gamer. He can make shots, he can drive the ball. He can get his teammates open. The biggest thing with him is just keeping that confidence.

“When he’s confident and he’s in flow state, in rhythm, he’s a great, great player. … He’s just gotta keep working.”

Bronny’s been working in the G League the last two seasons, bouncing between the big leagues and the developmental circuit, where last season his averages had been strong — including 21.9 factors, per recreation — but nowhere close to as environment friendly as they’ve been this season. In 13 video games, he’s averaging 14.8 factors on 54.7% capturing, including 41.7% from three-point vary.

Lakers ahead LeBron James greets his son, guard Bronny James, on the court during a recreation against the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 25.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s just getting back to where it was before the incident,” LeBron said Friday, referencing Bronny’s cardiac arrest prompted by a congenital coronary heart defect on July 24, 2023.

“He’s always been able to shoot the ball. He shot the ball at a high level pretty much throughout his years of playing ball. So I just think there’s the confidence in the rhythm and just getting the strength back and his wind and everything. Everything is just coming back.”

That’s carried over to the big membership; Bronny is capturing 41.9% from three-point vary in those situations when Redick has called on him — as he also did in a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

In that victory, Bronny had 4 factors, two steals and a block in 13 minutes. Redick credited the 21-year-old with settling the crew with a pull-up jumper with 3:55 to go in the sport, which was the second this season LeBron and Bronny performed together.

The first time it occurred, in the season opener in 2024, the prevailing thought was that it wouldn’t occur again for a long time — and if it did, one thing had most likely gone very unsuitable for the Lakers that recreation.

But that’s not the case. No, because Bronny has made a convincing case as an NBA participant.

“I’ve been wanting to play basketball my whole life,” Bronny said. “It’s a dream come true. I’m so privileged to be able to play basketball for a job and I love every single second of it. My teammates embrace it. I’m best friends with all my teammates and my coaches. I’m just happy to be here.”

He’s change into an efficient plug-and-play piece — and not on a tanking Nets crew that repeatedly runs out G League-caliber gamers, but on a playoff-bound Lakers crew that has gained 14 of its last 16 video games.

The No. 55 draft decide in 2024, Bronny has surpassed Dalton Knecht, the seventeenth decide in that same draft, in the Lakers’ pecking order.

He’s change into a participant who can be counted on, and he’s particularly useful to a crew that occurs to badly need youth and athleticism, as the Lakers do.

You need to speak twists? How about whatever occurs with LeBron — when, or if, he retires — the Lakers ought to critically contemplate holding Bronny in the fold. Seriously.