What Los Angeles Lakers Coach JJ Redick Said About Bronny James' Rookie NBA Season

“I give him an A+,” Redick said. “How he has personally handled a lot of attention, good and bad. He doesn’t ever break character. He’s the same guy every day. He doesn’t allow the good attention to get to him, and he doesn’t allow the bad attention to get to him. He just continues to work.”

Despite splitting time between the NBA and G League, with the Los Angeles Lakers, James played in 27 games. He averaged 5.5 minutes and 2.2 points per game. He finished the regular season with a field goal percentage of 33.3 and averaged 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

With the South Bay Lakers, James played just 11 games, starting in each of them. In the G League, James averaged 34.2 minutes, scoring 21.9 points per game. He averaged 5.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Despite the limited minutes in the NBA, James has continued to develop throughout the season. Redick talked in March about how James has improved throughout the season.

“The biggest area of improvement is probably just his playmaking, and I don’t mean that just in terms of passing,” Redick said. “But just his ability to play on and off the ball as a decision-maker, either a scorer or a passer. And with that, his confidence level and level of aggression has grown. For a young player, those are two really important things.”

The former USC Trojan earned his first start against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Lakers’ final regular season game. Los Angeles had already clinched the No. 3 seed and could rest starters. 

James finished the game with four points in 38 minutes. He went 2-10 with field goals and 0-3 on three-point attempts. James also had three rebounds and six assists.

After his first start, James talked to the media about how he feels he has improved in his first season with the Lakers.

“Thought I got better. I thought I grew as a player and a person,” James said. “Just more work to be done.”

“I feel like I have taken some steps in the right direction and I’m, you know, looking forward to doing that in the years to come,” James continued. “I feel like I’ve been doing better.”

While James may not be a role player during games throughout the Lakers’ playoff run, Redick put the rookie on the scout team to play the role of Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards to prepare for Minnesota.

The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 3 on Friday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. PT. 

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