The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for a 2024-25 NBA season that will have added buzz around their franchise thanks to their No. 55 overall pick Bronny James being in town next to his father and franchise player LeBron James. The younger James overcame a world of media attention during and after his freshman season at USC and successfully got drafted, despite many believing that he needed more time to develop his game. Ahead of the 2024 media day on Monday, though, those sentiments resurfaced at the mouth of one of the best to ever don a Lakers jersey.
Lakers: Magic Johnson does not think Bronny James is ready for the NBA yet
Lakers legend and Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson was a recent guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! On the late-night talk show, the former three-time league MVP gave this bold take about Bronny’s NBA readiness and charted out a course of action he feels would be most conducive for the 19-year-old to take in 2024-25 (h/t Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation):
“If I’m Bronny, I would tell my dad just let me play in the G League all season so that I can develop,” Johnson said. “He needs playing time. He doesn’t need to be sitting on the Laker bench and not playing. And that’s not a knock against him, he’s just not ready. He needs to develop more, and then he will be ready. Because he has some great talent and skills, but he needs to develop those skills at a much better clip if he wants to play 15-20 minutes a night in the NBA or more.”
Johnson’s plea for James to see ample time in the G League is warranted & wise
Johnson’s take may seem striking, but the younger James has a few things working against him. Primarily, the Lakers are a veteran ball club with a crowded depth chart in the backcourt. Los Angeles has D’Angelo Russell and Gave Vincent manning the point guard slot while Austin Reaves and Max Christie — the latter of whom has been lauded throughout league circles this offseason as a potential breakout candidate — have the two guard slot down pat.
L.A. also has the luxury of playing Cam Reddish at the two when they want to play with size and defensive intensity while spacing the floor. Bronny’s fellow 2024 Draft classmate Dalton Knecht is listed at fourth on the depth chart at the two, which could further impact his chance to see sufficient time on the floor next season.
Beyond this, the younger James did show an ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc with range in college, but his 26.7 percent clip from deep left something to be desired from an efficiency standpoint and he only made things worse by converting an underwhelming 15.8 percent of his 4.8 looks from downtown across four 2024 Summer League games.
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Bronny & LeBron James will make NBA history next season regardless of his readiness
Thus, the Ohio native may benefit more from staying active in the G League, developing his game, and then remaining ready for when his number is called to give the Lakers’ NBA squad valuable minutes. Bronny and LeBron James will generate packed houses and mass viewership as they’ll be the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time on the same team next season. Nevertheless, it would behoove the Lakers franchise to entertain playing the younger James in their developmental ranks for just that purpose as opposed to him riding the pine in the purple and gold.
