NBA
Lakers’ Bronny James is improving one aspect of his game ahead of 2025-26
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated3 hours ago on September 18, 2025
Ahead of his second professional season, Lakers’ Bronny James played in the 2025 summer league. It was another chance for the young guard to work on his craft against high-level competition.
When the summer league wrapped up, Bronny James spoke with Lakers’ insider Mike Trudell. James told Trudell that he’s been working on one area of his game this offseason. The former second-round pick is comfortable playing off the ball. Bronny wants to improve his on-ball skills, like taking the ball up the court and controlling the offense.
Bronny James wants to improve his on-ball skills for the upcoming season
Bronny James focused on improving one aspect of his game after Summer League:https://t.co/VBA67BnjiT
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) September 18, 2025
With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Lakers selected Bronny James out of USC. As the son of LeBron James, many analysts believe the Lakers did James a favor. Bronny likely would have gone undrafted if he were anyone else’s son. Those are just cold, hard facts. As a rookie, Bronny split time between the G League and the Lakers’ regular roster. LeBron and Bronny made NBA history to begin the 2024-25 season as the first father-son duo to share the court as members of the same team.
At the conclusion of the summer league in late June, Bronny James spoke with Lakers’ insider Mike Trudell. He mentioned working on his “on-ball” skills as a member of the Lakers’ backcourt. James mentioned he wants to have more confidence bringing the ball up the court. That’s something James struggled with in his rookie season.
Bronny James gets harsh reality check from Lakers insider https://t.co/2TdPpTc5jc, #Lakers, #KingJames, #LeBronJames, #NBA, #GLeague, @NBA
— The FIRST King James (@RoyalTeeATL) September 16, 2025
As an undersized guard, it would benefit Bronny to have skills handling the ball. He’s listed as a shooting guard on the Lakers’ depth chart. It would benefit James to work on his skills as a point guard. James is best when he plays off the ball and can be a slasher attacking the rim. That’s why Los Angeles wants to get him more reps as a point guard in 2025-26.
During his rookie season, James played in 27 games for the Lakers and made one start. He averaged 2.3 points in 6.7 minutes per game. Head coach J.J. Redick used Bronny in limited minutes in 2024-25. We’ll see how much Redick uses James in his second season. Dalton Knecht, Marcus Smart, and Gabe Vincent are all players who could see minutes ahead of Bronny in 2025-26. He may be third or fourth on the depth chart, much like his rookie season.
