Despite still not fully cracking the rotation, Bronny James showcased strides in his second NBA season a year ago. He shot 38.6 percent from deep (28.1 percent in 2024-25) and 43.1 percent on 2-pointers (34.3 percent in 2024-25) while continuing to flash some impressive feel, on-ball defense and connective passing.
In 2026-27, the goal should be to prove his outside shooting was not an aberration and further grow attacking closeouts if run off the arc. For the first time, he’ll also be playing without
his father, LeBron James, as a teammate and wants to make clear he’s his own player beyond his dad’s shadow.
“I think, for me, just the motivating factor of creating my own path and my own career just makes me want to get up every day and work hard and come into the gym and learn from guys that have been here longer than me,” he told reporters at Monday’s media day. “I think it’s just something I”ve followed my entire life. You guys know me as Bronny and my real name is LeBron. I’ve been doing this for however long so I think it’s a motivating factor for me just getting up every day to prove myself as Bronny instead of LeBron.”
As a 6-foot-2 off-ball guard with limited dribbling and interior scoring comfort, Bronny is facing an uphill battle to establish himself as a full-time rotation player in the league. Fortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense is led by a pair of bigger initiators, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, who can allow smaller players to slide off the ball — an area Bronny focused on this offseason — and reap the rewards of their creation talents.
Los Angeles needs more point-of-attack stoppers, where Bronny has displayed promise, so if he’s a legitimate floor-spacer and develops a bit offensively, it’s plausible he becomes a reliable option off the bench independent of any ties to his family name. That certainly seems to be his goal.
You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.
