Gazing from a 27th-floor suite at the Vdara Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas, Bronny James takes in the expansive panoramic view. It`s mid-afternoon on July 13, and he observes the surrounding ARIA Resort & Casino grounds, where the Los Angeles Lakers` young prospects and roster hopefuls are temporarily residing. He points out notable landmarks, then admits to knowing the Backstreet Boys` songs despite his age.
Three days prior, the NBA made Bronny another featured Las Vegas headliner, pitting him and the Summer League Lakers against the Dallas Mavericks and their heralded No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg. The Lakers lost, with James scoring eight points and missing a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds. Two days later, in the Lakers` second game, he scored 14 points in a 94-81 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
“My head is all over the place,” he confessed. “There`s so much going on in Vegas. I personally don`t like summer league at all. I like the competition and the games, but I don`t like coming to Vegas and being in Vegas… After this, I`m just doing nothing.”
This approach starkly contrasts with that of his father, LeBron James, who squeezed in a Vegas stop to watch his son play after a trip to Puerto Rico for a Bad Bunny concert, followed by a global journey to Monaco for an E1 electric power boating race.
Bronny`s biographical details, suitable for a basketball card, state that he was drafted less than a year after suffering cardiac arrest during a summer workout with the USC Trojans. He was selected by the Lakers with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He made history by becoming part of the first father-son tandem to play in the NBA together when he checked in against the Minnesota Timberwolves last October.
However, his biography won`t mention that James has never watched the tape of that game. He has never reviewed his two missed shots in that brief appearance, which had little consequence in the Lakers` 110-103 victory.
“I just think that if you know me, I don`t really like the spotlight in big moments,” he said. “I mean, it was a great experience to be part of because it was the first son-father duo. But I`m a chill guy. I don`t like [all that]. It comes with it. But yeah, I don`t really like to go back. I mean, I`ll watch my good performances where I have some minutes under my belt, but I`m not going to go and watch that.”
Nine months have passed since James` NBA launch in L.A., and two years since his career and life were threatened on a practice court at USC. He has spent the past year working away from the spotlight to become a meaningful player, more a contributing feature than a mere attraction. His goal is to crack coach JJ Redick`s rotation, overcome lingering effects from his heart condition, and leapfrog multiple veterans on the depth chart. The question remains: how realistic is this?
A Season of Adaptation: From G League to NBA Spotlight
As arguably the most talked-about 55th pick in NBA history, James played only 181 minutes across 27 games last season. He shuttled between the Lakers` main squad and their G League affiliate, being more known for briefly making history than for making impactful plays.
There were very few highlights. So few that before games, he`d watch clips of his high school highlights for a confidence boost. But there was an unmistakable low point – and it significantly shaped his season.
It was January 28. The Lakers were in Philadelphia, in the midst of a five-game road trip. With Gabe Vincent sidelined due to a left knee injury and James coming off a 31-point game for the South Bay Lakers, he was called up from the G League to join the varsity club in Philadelphia. In his 13th game, and his first time playing a real role in the rotation as a backup point guard, James was exposed. In 15 minutes, he went 0-for-5 with three turnovers. He was relentlessly targeted by Tyrese Maxey, as the Sixers guard exploded for 43 points, leading Philly to a win without Joel Embiid or Paul George.
Afterward, Redick—a first-year coach—took the blame, stating he put James in a “tough spot.” Critics who had argued that L.A. wasted its second-round pick, viewing James` selection as mere nepotism to appease his father, piled on. This continued a level of scrutiny no late second-round pick before him had endured.
For James, the external chatter mattered far less than his own performance. “It was definitely like, `OK, this is where I stand right now, I need to just be better,`” he said. “I need to get in the gym, get extra shots up, work on my body, work on my IQ, watch film, stuff like that with the coaches. So, it was definitely an eye-opener for me.” It was his “welcome-to-the-NBA” moment. “I don`t take it for granted,” he affirmed. “It was an experience I definitely should have gone through.”
He finished the road trip with mop-up minutes against the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks before returning to the G League for much of February. He struggled in his first game back with South Bay — 5-for-17 shooting and six turnovers with a plus-minus of minus-18 in a 105-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Blue.
James` coach in South Bay is 37-year-old Zach Guthrie, who was in his first year with the Lakers` G League program after a decade in basketball roles ranging from video coordinator to assistant coach. A month into the season, Guthrie made a pact with James: he would be the team`s lead guard through any inconsistencies. “`You`re the point guard, we`re doing this,`” Guthrie told ESPN. “I was just like, `It`s your show, let`s go.` `The ball`s in your hands the entire game. We`re living and dying with it.`”
Guthrie tailored his offense to James, repeatedly running “Spain” pick-and-rolls—a complex play designed to create various options for the point guard—until James mastered it. “`You`re going to get really good at reading this one play,`” Guthrie told him. “`And I think it`s the most point guard-friendly play. And so it was like, `We`re going to run this to death, and you`re going to learn all the reads.`”
There was one key stipulation: to retain his lead role, James had to be defensively locked in. “`All I`m asking is you got to guard,`” Guthrie told James. “`And I`m going to hold you to a crazy standard. And if you`re not defending, if you`re being lazy… I`m going to sub you out, I`m going to show it to the team. And that`s it. And then you`re going to play to exhaustion.`”
It worked. Rebounding from his Oklahoma City struggles, James finished the G League season averaging 22.8 points, 5.6 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals, while shooting 36.7% from three-point range in the last seven games. South Bay went 5-2 in that stretch. Redick was aware of Guthrie`s pact and closely monitored James` progress. Watching James, he said, reminded him of a conversation he had with his 10-year-old son, Knox, after Knox faced tough competition at AAU Nationals.
“They played a really good team, and they had a number of kids that were big and strong and really talented,” Redick recalled. “And Knox kind of had a crisis-of-confidence moment.” Knox is as far removed on the basketball spectrum from Bronny as Bronny is from his father. But a universal truth applies at every stage.
“The thing I shared with him was like, `Knox, this is the good stuff. When you fail, that`s the good stuff,`” Redick explained. “That`s how you get better… He comes back from that trip, and it was, `Dad, I want to get stronger. I need to get stronger.` It`s like, how else are we going to grow if we don`t test ourselves and fail?”
Overcoming Health Challenges and Striving for Elite Conditioning
Of course, “failure” is a relative term for James. After suffering cardiac arrest two years ago due to a congenital heart defect, requiring surgery that left a 6-inch scar down the center of his chest, wins and losses on a basketball court take on a different scope.
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, with whom James has grown close, views the experience as a valuable mental edge for his teammate. “Having the game taken away from you at a younger age in the way he did, whether it be injury or whatever it was, I think it gave him a different appreciation,” Vincent stated. “I think it forces you to have a different kind of fight. It puts a chip on your shoulder. Everyone needs a chip, but it gives you a different kind of belief in yourself as you`re battling back. You kind of have to climb uphill. And so that builds a lot of resolve.”
While this perspective has undoubtedly steeled him, James says he still feels lingering physical effects. “I get kind of sick easier now,” he shared. “Which is kind of weird, but I think it messed with my immune system a little bit. So, I would have times where I have to sit out, and that conditioning that I`m working on just goes away in that week of me being out.”
This happened this summer, with an illness keeping him out of a week`s worth of workouts leading up to the California Classic. His conditioning suffered, leading the team to hold him out of the opener in San Francisco, and placing him on a minutes restriction in his second game. “Anytime you have a situation like this, it takes some time for the body`s collaborative immune system to build back up,” Lakers athletic trainer Mike Mancias told ESPN. “It`s very normal to have even elite athletes experience this. But because of Bronny`s age and condition, it [will happen] even faster.”
Yet, considering his primary goal from the coaching staff, his situation can seem Sisyphean. “The biggest thing for Bronny is that he has to get in elite shape,” Redick emphasized. “That`s the barrier of entry for him right now. And if he does that, I think he`s got a chance to be a really fantastic player in the NBA.”
Redick points to the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Davion Mitchell of the Miami Heat or his friend and former teammate, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound T.J. McConnell of the Indiana Pacers, as examples of the type of game-changer James can become. But part of their skill sets is a two-way relentlessness that demands tremendous stamina—a physical output James has not consistently sustained.
“On every single possession, they`re in the game—whether that`s offensively or defensively—they`re able to impact it with how hard they play,” Redick noted. “With the defensive pickup points, the disruption, being able to get downhill… I think we have all seen these amazing flashes of it from Bronny. And to get to that next level for him, it`s cardio fitness. He`s cleared… I get that there`s a history there of a really scary thing that he had to live through, and I think it`s tough to push past certain points for him, but he`s going to get there. He`s going to get there.”
Guthrie has already observed progress. “His conditioning is like a basketball 401(k),” Guthrie remarked. “It is all about daily deposits. And sometimes, when you don`t make as much money or you have a life event, you`re going to have to take a little out of your 401(k), or you`re not putting in as much… Yeah, there`s going to be times he`s sick or this or that, but if he just stays vigilant and stays about his work, I think he will be fine. That 401(k) will be great because he`s been putting in the work starting now, starting in the offseason, focusing on his diet, focusing on sleep, focusing on all those things. That`s all part of conditioning. It`s all tied together.”
This consistency is something he has learned from his father. “I think that`s a big part of why his longevity is just so crazy and he`s able to withstand so much for 20-plus years,” James said. “I see a lot of guys that don`t want to get in an ice bath after practice or don`t want to get treatment.”
In offseason workouts, he endures interval training—VersaClimber sessions, stationary bike burnouts, incline walk exertions, windsprints—to supplement scrimmaging and skill work. (Knowing his jumper will also be key to earning playing time, James finishes his workouts with a curated 105-shot shooting drill. His goal is to make 80 shots.)
This diligent approach has garnered him support inside the locker room. “We might be competing for minutes down the line, but as a teammate, as a human, as a person, I want nothing but the best for him,” Vincent stated. “And it only makes the Lakers better if we`re having competitions for depth chart spots.”
Vincent was courtside in Las Vegas for the Lakers` win over New Orleans. James was assigned to defend Pelicans` No. 7 pick Jeremiah Fears, an athletic, 6-foot-4 guard. James helped L.A. hold the hyped prospect to 5-for-21 shooting with three turnovers.
“After the game against the Pels, I just sent him a text the following day: `Hey, I don`t know what you`re being told in the background, but I liked what I saw,`” Vincent texted. “`You were aggressive… You were on the main guy.`…” “It`s hard, I think, sometimes in Laker Land and sometimes as a young player with expectations on him, to have a big-picture mindset and to look at the overall thing,” Vincent reflected. “But for me, we`ve seen the growth in him from Year 1 to now, so it`s important to just continue to rise.”
Confidence and Future Prospects
During the first possession James played in Summer League, against the Heat in San Francisco, his progress was literally on display. As soon as Miami`s Kasparas Jakucionis turned his back to spin around L.A.`s DJ Steward, James sped up from his blind side to poke away the ball. He then gathered it near midcourt, dribbled twice, and took off from a foot inside the foul line, finishing at the hoop with a powerful one-handed dunk.
In the Vdara suite, one of his confidants suggested James might not have punctuated the play with a dunk a year ago. James agreed. “Last year,” he said, “I probably would`ve had a little rim grazer, layup type of finish.” He might not have had that moment even a few months ago.
In April, the Lakers concluded the regular season against the Portland Trail Blazers, with their No. 3 seed locked up against a Blazers team already eliminated from postseason contention. Redick rested his top rotation players and emptied the bench, meaning James received his first career start.
Although he had stabilized in the G League by this point and had a couple of notable games with the Lakers—contributing five points, two rebounds, and a steal in a near road upset in Denver while LeBron and Doncic rested, and scoring a season-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting with five assists less than a week later against the Milwaukee Bucks—the first half of the finale in Portland was a regression.
James had two points on 1-for-4 shooting with two turnovers, and L.A. trailed by 15 at the break. And Redick let him hear it. “It was the only time I really got on him all year,” Redick stated. “The thing I said to him was: My belief in you as a player can`t be higher than your belief in you. And the standard you hold yourself has to be higher than the standard I`m going to hold you to.”
It`s a delicate balance the 20-year-old James is working to strike, with daily “deposits.” Every bit, every day is making him believe. “My confidence level is, for sure, taking a leap.”