It was revealed on Friday that LeBron James’ son Bronny will soon begin splitting time between the Los Angeles Lakers and the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
However, Skip Bayless — a longtime critic of the elder James — doesn’t seem totally convinced just yet that the younger James will in fact play for the South Bay Lakers anytime soon.
Lakers say Bronny will accompany LeBron on the upcoming 5-game road trip, then go back and forth to the G League when the Lakers return. I'll believe it when I see it. Hard to believe LeBron wants his namesake on the South Bay Lakers. But for now it sounds good.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 26, 2024
But contrary to Bayless’ thoughts on social media, the elder James has made it known that he isn’t opposed to seeing his son play in the G League.
“Seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player,” the elder James said of what he wants out of the younger James. “No matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team.”
The amount of playing time that the younger James has seen since the start of the season may indicate that the G League is the best place for him right now.
The younger James didn’t sniff the court in the Lakers’ most recent game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. He also played under three minutes in Los Angeles’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves and didn’t make a huge impact when he was on the floor.
The first game of L.A.’s upcoming road trip (which Bayless mentioned) is set for Oct. 28 against the Suns, and the last game will come on Nov. 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies. The South Bay Lakers will open their season on Nov. 9.
While the younger James has played an incredibly small role for the Lakers so far this season, his father has been key in Los Angeles getting off to a hot start. The Lakers own a 2-0 record, and the elder James has performed at a high level so far.
Against the Timberwolves, he totaled 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Three days later, versus the Suns, he stuffed the stat sheet once again with 21 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
The elder James and the Lakers will try for their third victory in a row to kick off the season when they take on the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night. Sacramento lost its season opener on Thursday by just two points.
