Bronny James Is Good Enough to Play for Lakers ‘Right Now,’ Says LeBron James

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer says his elder son immediately could hold his own in the league.

It’s been a frustrating past several weeks for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, as they have endured a recent rough patch that has knocked the team down to the No. 11 seed in the NBA’s Western Conference. 

James, who could best be described as frustrated during a Friday media session after the Lakers’ fourth straight loss, lightened up for a moment when teammate Austin Reaves asked him about his son Bronny’s upcoming game for USC against Stanford on Saturday. 

When asked by Reaves whether Bronny would be starting for the Trojans, James responded confidently that he believed it was “time,” declaring that his son “could play for us right now,” per Claire de Lune of The Guardian on X, formerly Twitter. 

during ad’s availability, austin asked lebron about bronny’s game tomorrow and if he’d be starting. lebron said he thought it was time, and loudly said “he could play for us right now. easy. EASY.”

— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) January 6, 2024

Given the current state of affairs for the Lakers, the elder James’s claim that Bronny could start for them could either be construed as a compliment to his son or a sneaky dig at his teammates.

In all seriousness though, James is likely just imploring USC, who has kept Bronny on a minutes restriction after he suffered cardiac arrest back in July, to let his son handle a full workload. 

James has made it clear he would like to play alongside Bronny and younger son Bryce in the NBA. Maybe this is a not-so-subtle hint to the Lakers to make such an arrangement happen in the near future. 

Bronny James is averaging 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 16.8 minutes of action over six games for the Trojans this season.