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The bet the Lakers made on Bronny James was always going to come with enormous weight, as their second-round draft pick was impossible to separate from the team’s star, who made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play with his son.
Bronny James’ first NBA appearance came on opening night, long before he was ready. He scored his first points in Cleveland when the game was decided. And his early G-League appearances were, if anything, only moderately encouraging.
But after disappearing from the spotlight due to a heel injury that cost him several weeks, James returned to the Lakers’ South Bay roster and surprised many people with his outings, not to mention the numbers he put up.
In his last three G League games, James is averaging 20.7 points on 43.1% shooting while showing that he is the type of defender the Lakers hope he can develop into. James will play for the South Bay Lakers in the NBA’s G League showcase this week in Orlando.
“We made it a point to get him in top shape in the summer, in the preseason and at the beginning of the season so that he can be a high-caliber impact player on defense,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice on Tuesday. “And then he has the heel injury and has to lose some of that momentum. [But] We’re excited about what he’s done over the last two games and look forward to seeing what he does in the lineup.”
James’ real breakthrough came on Thursday, when he scored 30 points (and took 23 shots) in a game. In the next game he scored 16 points.
Read more: LeBron James returns and the Lakers overcome Anthony Davis’ injury scare and win
“Just keep stacking the days, keep putting in the work. At the end of the day, work always wins,” LeBron James said in the message to his son on Sunday. “It’s just great to see him get back into the flow, get back to his game, get back to himself, just play freely and go out there and just play the game that he loves and knows how to play. “I loved his aggressiveness . He was aggressive from the beginning of both games until the end.”
The aggressive part is a challenge to Bronny James’ personality. It was a shot used against him by scouts in the pre-college evaluation process. But it, like everything else Redick said, can be learned if the motivation is there.
And across the team, Redick knows how to motivate his players.
“It’s not a punishment, it’s…either you’re going to do the things we ask of you and you’re going to play, or you’re not going to do those things and you’re not going to play.” Redick said, “It’s simple. And that is exactly the way I will coach the basketball team in the future. So I think, not just for Bronny, but for us, what we envision for him to play and win, he has to be able to play baseline and do those things. It’s no different than Max Christie or Dalton [Knecht, the Lakers’ first-round pick]. And when you do these things you will be rewarded with play.
“…The Development Process: When you are clear about what you want and do the things we ask, you will be rewarded. So that’s kind of how you teach it.”
Redick said Tuesday that coaching Bronny James is different because his situation is different than any other player who has entered the NBA. None of them had LeBron James as a father.
“He has to get to the point where it’s OK to fail,” Redick said. “I think he has a real reservation about failure.” I think that’s largely because he’s been carrying a camera since he was eight. I can’t, I can’t imagine it [my sons] Knox and Kai have cameras at their recreational league games. I think once he develops that, he will take off, literally take off. He will do anything you ask him to do. He did everything we asked him to do.
“It’s just part of player development, not just the physical skills and physical development, but also the mental development.”
Christie said the pressure on any young player becomes even greater in a Lakers jersey, let alone one with “James Jr.” on the back.
“Being with the Lakers brings a lot of extra things just because we are the greatest franchise in the world,” Christie said. “…It’s hard to fail with the Lakers because I feel like every mistake you make is highlighted in bold – at least I had that my rookie year and even a little bit last year.”
Christie has overcome that a lot, even this season, using the experience from a bad foul call at the end of the Lakers’ loss to Oklahoma City to improve in critical situations.
“It wasn’t easy to fail,” he said. “I felt like it was really hard. “You look at all these negative comments and stuff like that on social media. And so I’ve learned to adapt and grow, although for the most part I stay away from it now. And also internally with myself and my own voice in my head, my own confidence, my own self-esteem, knowing that it’s okay to fail and knowing that you have to fail before you succeed. Failure is a stepping stone to success. You learn, you grow from it.
“I don’t know any truly talented people who have had success throughout their life. They failed at certain points in the limelight. They failed in the dark. So at some point you’re going to fail and you just have to take it lightly and find a way to just get better.”
Read more: Max Christie is making a case to become the Lakers’ next stopper
The Lakers and Christie believe Bronny James can do it.
“I mean, the kid is a good player, man. I mean, regardless of what everyone says about him, ‘He’s not good enough.’ Yada, yada, yada.’ The boy is a good player,” Christie said. “He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. He has grown a lot just through his time with us. I think he learned a lot from having LeBron as someone around him a lot. He obviously already knows this area very well. And then when you put him on a team, he asks a lot of questions, pays attention to details and you can see that he’s picking up a little bit of pace in the G League now.
“So obviously, like I said, you’re going to fail before you succeed, and everyone has their own path. And it just so happens that he’s really in the spotlight. However, some people don’t realize that it takes time for someone to get used to something new, especially at a professional level. So he just takes his time. He takes his own steps. He goes his own way and we all believe in him. Everyone in this organization believes in him. So that’s all a young man needs.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
