The Lakers are already considering how they will handle LeBron James and Bronny James taking the court together for the first time as a father-son duo. Speaking to media members on Wednesday, new Lakers coach JJ Redick said that while concrete plans haven’t been made, he intends to include both players in the process. “We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we’ve gotten into some specifics of what that might look like,” Redick said. “But we haven’t committed to anything. And obviously, there’s a discussion to be had once we’re all together with Bronny and LeBron, too. They should be a part of that discussion as well.”
The Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, officially setting the stage for LeBron and his son to become the first father-son duo to play on the same team together. There will be tons of fanfare surrounding Bronny’s first game, and when he officially takes the court alongside LeBron, it will be a historic moment.
But when that happens remains to be seen. The Lakers open their regular season on October 22 against the Timberwolves at home, but Bronny doesn’t figure to be a major part of L.A.’s rotation initially. It would be difficult to see him get anything more than a ceremonial moment in that opening night game. The Lakers follow that matchup with games against the Suns and Kings at home during their first week – both important matchups in the grand scheme of things. If Bronny gets playing time then, it may only be during garbage time unless he shows significant improvement during training camp.
Despite all of this buzz surrounding LeBron and Bronny playing together, Redick isn’t concerned about managing them while also focusing on the bigger picture for the team: ”I don’t look at it as a challenge,” Redick said. “It’s unique from any other challenge of coaching a player or coaching a relationship… He’s young and he’s hungry… He’s extremely coachable… So … it’s not something I’ve really thought of as a challenge.”
