The Los Angeles Lakers ended their season with a whimper, losing 81-109 to the Portland Trail Blazers after benching all rotational players. The Lakers sealed their fate as the No. 3 seed of the Conference before tonight, which allowed their young stars to receive extended minutes. This greatly benefitted rookie Bronny James.
Bronny made his first NBA start in the final game of the season. James reflected on his whirlwind rookie season after the loss, admitting he has a long way to go, but he's happy with the progress he's made and is excited to continue learning more.
"I felt like I got better. Grew as a player and person. There's more work to be done. I feel like my progression has been slow, but I'm getting better every day."
"The preparation and thinking the game as much in the Playoffs, and their intensity, yeah, I am ready to be open-minded and learn every game."
Bronny had a rough offensive game, scoring just four points (2-10 FG), but he showed off his great role-player tendencies. He grabbed three rebounds, dished six assists, and forced four steals in 38 minutes of action. The completely dud scoring performance wasn't ideal, but Bronny had impactful stints throughout this game.
His activity and aggression on the ball as a defender might just be the trait that helps him find a rotational role in the NBA. If he can clean up his shot, he'd be a great three-and-D guard for contending teams in the NBA. However, he has a long way to go before he can reach that status, as he's ending this season with pretty poor stats.
Bronny averaged 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists on 33.1% from the field and 18.1% from three this season.
The one thing Bronny has proven to many is that he's capable of being a legitimate NBA player and was a selection that's pretty in line with the kind of project players teams draft that late into the second round of the draft.
The hubbub around Bronny's career has been unnecessary, as he had the normal rookie fluctuations that almost every NBA player has gone through. People are discrediting him even when he's having G League outbursts, which prove he's worth an NBA opportunity.
There have been highs and lows all year for Bronny. He faced the worst of the media after he got torched by Tyrese Maxey in a game where he received his first real rotational minutes of the season and was way out of his depth.
However, just a few months later, he had a 17-point outing in a real winning contribution against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, which prompted his biggest haters to backtrack on earlier comments.
While many still believe his father, LeBron James, is entirely responsible for his career, Bronny's rookie season, primarily in the G League, has shown that he is worth taking a swing on as an NBA player.
