Despite being a late second-round pick, Bronny James was always under the spotlight during his rookie season.
It was a combined result of Bronny James being LeBron James‘ eldest son and getting drafted to the iconic Los Angeles Lakers.
While Bronny averaged just 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game during his rookie year, many tend to forget that was the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Despite that, James Jr. was criticized during the majority of his first year with the Lakers.
As Bronny prepares for his second year in the NBA, all eyes will once again be on him. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ lead assistant coach made an appearance on The Sports Shop.
During his appearance, McMillan shared his two cents on James Jr.’s first year in the league.
“A young guy like that coming in with the type of pressure he came into the league with last year was unbelievable.
“When he played in the Las Vegas Summer League last year and this year, his games were sold out, to see him,” McMillan said.
He added: “The fanbase has been really, for the most part, been really supportive of him. He spent a lot of time in the G League [last] season and I really feel like that helped him.”
Bronny had some impressive performances in the G League. But that was just the tip of the iceberg as the 20-year-old put on a show in the 2025 NBA Summer League.
Last season, James Jr. averaged just 31.3% from the field and 28.1% from the three-point line for the Lakers, showing terrible efficiency.
However, Bronny has worked on that aspect of his game along with a plethora of other things. The improvements were visible during the 2025 Summer League.
Keeping that in mind, McMillan made a major statement on James Jr. ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.
“When he came out to this summer league and played every game, you could see the confidence. He was much more relaxed than he was last year, and everybody would have been nervous as [he was] last season,” McMillan continued.
The Lakers’ lead assistant coach concluded by stating: “His shot was never broken, but the confidence, you could see he was knocking down those shots, getting to the basket.
“Defensively, we wanted him to challenge himself to pick up the ball.”
Bronny has impressed the coaching staff, but the job’s not done yet. Head coach JJ Redick expects Bronny to emulate the games of two brilliant role players.
Unless he can achieve that, it’s still tough to see him earning a consistent role under coach Redick on the Lakers.
