Bronny James, the 2024 second-round pick out of USC, is officially headed back to the G League. After making the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2026-27 opening night roster over his draft classmate Dalton Knecht, James has averaged a mere 2.4 minutes across five appearances during the Lakers’ blazing 7-2 start. The team announced Thursday that he’s been assigned to their G League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Lakers.
Another Stint, Another Question Mark
This isn’t James’ first trip to the G League, and honestly, the limited court time this season just screams ‘what’s going on?’ In his five NBA games this year, he’s barely seen the floor, scoring a dismal 0.8 points per game on just three field goal attempts, hitting two of them. It’s wild to think he secured a spot on the main roster initially, especially when Knecht, a first-round pick, got waived. Now, James is off to join fellow guard Cameron Carr in the G League, with their Coachella Valley squad kicking off its season Friday night against the Utah Jazz’s Salt Lake City Stars. This is his first season in the Lakers organization without his superstar father, LeBron James, and you gotta wonder how that’s playing into things.
The Promise vs. The Reality Check
The thing is, we’ve seen flashes from Bronny in the G League before. Across 25 regular-season games with the then-South Bay Lakers, he put up some solid numbers: 18.4 points, 4.4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 49.6% from the field and a sweet 41.3% from beyond the arc. That’s real production! But the NBA has been a different beast. As a rookie, he struggled, making father-son history but only playing 27 games and shooting 31.3% from the field and 28.1% from three. Year two saw some noticeable progress though, playing 42 games, bumping his field goal percentage to 40.9% and his three-point percentage to 38.6%. Head coach JJ Redick even threw him into the playoff rotation last season, albeit a shorthanded one. Coming into Year 3, at 22 years old, the big question was how he’d fare without his dad’s presence. So far, the answer is: he hasn’t gotten the chance to even try. His lack of on-court involvement isn’t exactly building confidence for that long-term 3-and-D role he teased last year.
Meanwhile, while James is getting another G League assignment, Dalton Knecht, the guy waived by the Lakers, is already making moves. He signed a two-way deal with the New York Knicks and dropped 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds in a win over the Chicago Bulls just this Wednesday. That’s a gut punch for sure. Bronny could be back with the Lakers soon, but with the Coachella Valley Lakers hitting the court Friday, he’s got to prove he can dominate at that level again. This assignment feels like a do-or-die moment for him to show he belongs.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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