At 20 years old, Bronny James is far from a finished product. That much should be evident after a preseason in which nobody in the league played worse than him.

Despite those initial struggles, Bronny is a legitimate draft prospect. He had a first-round grade coming out of high school before suffering cardiac arrest during a preseason workout at USC. That derailed his college season, but he tested well at the draft combine a year later. 

The Warriors considered taking Bronny with the 52nd pick before letting him fall to the Lakers out of respect for LeBron. Everyone knew that he was raw when he entered the draft, which has turned out to be true. 

The exhibition schedule is over. Now, Bronny is going to have to prove himself in the games that matter. He clearly isn’t his dad, but what kind of player can we expect?

Here’s what Bronny’s rookie year will probably look like. 

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How good is Bronny James?

Bronny was the 55th pick in the draft. It’s important to keep in mind that most of those players don’t pan out. If he even plays in 100 NBA games, he will be doing far better than the majority of prospects selected in that slot.

If Bronny does hit, it will be as a 3-and-D player. He’s compared himself to defense-first guards like Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Davion Mitchell. He already looks like a solid NBA defender and a good shot-blocking guard. He had some big defensive plays in Summer League and the preseason, earning praise from teammates for his toughness and physicality. 

Bronny’s offense has been another story altogether. His shooting has been extremely inconsistent — he hit just 8.3 percent of his 3s in the preseason. That was in line with the 15.8 percent from deep that he shot in Summer League and 26.7 percent at USC.

Bronny does have some potential, though. He has decent form and was the second-best shooter in pre-draft combine drills. His value will hopefully one day come as a spacing threat, but he will have to hone that shot before he can earn rotation minutes. 

Bronny also hasn’t shown an ability to handle the ball yet. He showed some lead guard skills in high school that we haven’t seen since then. He was turnover-prone in preseason games. That will lead him to play off the ball when he does get NBA minutes. 

Those opportunities will likely be few and far between at the start of the year. The Lakers have high expectations, and JJ Redick has already outlined a nine-man rotation which Bronny isn’t a part of. 

POSITIONAL RANKINGS: PG | SG | SF | PF | C

Why will Bronny James spend time in the G League? 

Bronny has a contract worth $7.9 million over the next four years, with the first three years fully guaranteed. That means that there is virtually zero chance that the Lakers cut him in this first year, no matter how poorly he performs. They are investing in him long-term. 

Just because Bronny is signed with the big league team doesn’t mean he will stay there, though. He needs to get a lot of game time reps for his development to continue, so he will almost certainly be assigned to practice and play some games with the South Bay Lakers in the G League. 

The G League season doesn’t start until Nov. 8, so Bronny will start the year with the Lakers and have his moment with his father LeBron to share the floor. Given their championship aspirations and Bronny’s struggles in the preseason, he will probably only see garbage time minutes until he proves that he won’t be a liability.

Bronny can rotate between the G League and NBA as often as the team deems necessary, which will probably be a lot. 

MORE: Complete game logs for Bronny James during the 2024 NBA preseason

Bronny James stats projections for 2024-25