Los Angeles Lakers’ Bronny James looks on during an NBA summer league basketball game against the Miami Heat in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
The NBA is an ever-changing, ever-evolving landscape, where players must repeatedly adapt to survive and thrive. A player can reach the league due to their tremendous ability on the court.
But they must also possess the capability to keep up that play on a consistent basis, or risk losing their place on the team.
With each passing season, certain players come and go for this very reason. The possibility for a player to lose playing time depends on their play, but also depends on their contract situation.
Players owed a lot on their contract and who have multiple years remaining will most likely not see a decrease in play time. A player in their final year, on the other hand, certainly could.
With the league being as competitive as ever come the 2024-25 season, certain players’ time on the court may be in jeopardy if they do not improve their games. Bronny James, a player who has yet to even play in the NBA, is one of those players.
Bronny Building
Despite Bronny being a recent draft pick, the pressure has never been higher for him. Taken by the L.A. Lakers in the second round, the son of LeBron James will share the court with his father in the first father-son duo in league history.
But what has become clear is that at this present moment, Bronny does not possess the capabilities of his father. In fact, it is not common for a second-round pick to be guaranteed playtime in the league, and Bronny is no exception, despite already signing a two-year guaranteed contract.
Bronny got his first taste of professional basketball in this year’s Summer League, where he put up mixed stats. Although he started off slow, he picked it up in his final two games. However, the Lakers have not guaranteed that Bronny will spend all of his time on their court, with a potential G League stint not out of the cards.
It is clear that Bronny will have a bright future in the NBA. But it is also clear that he has plenty of development left to go, and if he experiences a slow start, that development will likely happen in the G League. Therefore, Bronny will have to improve his stats or risk being sent down to begin the year.
