The days of LeBron and Bronny sharing the court together in only a ceremonial sense are long, long gone.
While it was a great moment in his rookie season to have the father-and-son duo play together to start last season, Bronny was clearly out of his depth. It’s only at this point, late in his second season, that the minutes no longer feel ceremonial.
An injury to Marcus Smart first opened the door for Bronny to get minutes, but the far more impactful openings came when Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves
were injured. He took full advantage of those opportunities to solidfy his spot as the final man in the rotation.
On Saturday, that resulted in him and LeBron sharing the floor in an entirely non-ceremonial way. While Bronny only saw one shift in the Game 1 win and not even four full minutes of playing time, it was enough to make a lasting memory for LeBron.
“There’s a lot of crazy things that’s been going on this year for me,” LeBron said postgame. “I mean, s—, I was on the floor with my son in a playoff game. That’s probably the craziest thing. So cool to be out there with him and his brother and sister and his mom in the building and his grandma. That’s just insane. My mom get to watch her son and her grandson in the playoffs. That’s crazy.”
How much Bronny plays the rest of this series remains to be seen. The old adage goes something along the lines of “Play nine, trust eight” when talking about postseason rotations. Bronny is clearly the ninth person in that mix and it feels dependent on what the game is calling for as to whether he keeps getting minutes.
For example, if the Lakers are in desperate need of offense, perhaps head coach JJ Redick gives Nick Smith Jr. those minutes in hopes he provides a spark. If they need a spark of athleticism or defense, maybe Adou Thiero gets a shout.
But Bronny has put himself squarely in the mix, and it’s not simply because he’s LeBron’s son.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
