LeBron James Addresses Lakers' Upcoming Bronny James Decision

James spoke to reporters on Thursday as he prepares for their series against Kevin Durant and Co. According to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, sharing the past two seasons with his son, and now having the opportunity to play in their first playoff game together is “the best thing that's ever happened to me in my career.”

At this point, however, there is no guarantee that Bronny James will play against the Rockets. While the 21-year-old has been a permanent fixture in the Lakers’ rotation in the latter part of the regular season, head coach JJ Redick will need to decide if he will use Bronny James in the playoffs.

Bronny James has been in and out of the lineup for the Lakers all year. In fact, he spent considerable time with the South Bay Lakers in the G League this season. In the NBA, the 6-foot-2 shooting guard made 42 appearances throughout the regular season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.2 assists in 8.9 minutes per contest.

LeBron James commented on the Lakers’ upcoming decision on his eldest son. The four-time NBA champion forward is confident that Bronny James will be ready.

"The fact that he's put himself in a position to get his number called for a postseason game is pretty remarkable and pretty cool, given the circumstances that he's been through over the last couple of years," LeBron James said. "So he earned it, he deserved it, and he'll be ready."

The injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have left the Lakers’ backcourt severely undermanned. These developments led to Bronny James re-entering the rotation in the final stretch of the regular season.

Both Doncic and Reaves are expected to miss a considerable part, if not the entirety, of the Rockets series. This puts Bronny James in a great position to potentially play some significant minutes in the playoffs. Marcus Smart, however, has returned to the lineup after missing nine games due to an ankle injury.

Last season, Bronny James played a total of just four minutes in two games in the postseason. The Lakers were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, 4-1.