LeBron James: Bronny showed he 'belongs' in NBA after playing 'meaningful' minutes in Lakers' win over Pacers

LeBron James told The Athletic on Wednesday that his son, Bronny James, "belongs" in the NBA after he played "meaningful" minutes to help the Los Angeles Lakers return to their winning ways in a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers. 

The shorthanded Lakers needed some help in the backcourt on Wednesday, so coach JJ Redick turned to Bronny, who appeared in all four quarters and finished with four points, an assist, two steals and a block in 13 minutes -- his most playing time in over a month. The Lakers were plus-four with Bronny on the court. 

"Felt like this was a game we really needed him," Redick said. "It was a game that, you know, his athleticism, his defense…. we saw it last year, and we're seeing it again this year, just his growth as a player." 

Redick added that Bronny has "arguably the best player in the last 3 or 4 weeks in our stay ready games." 

The younger James was the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and like most players selected in that range, has played sparingly in his season-plus in the league. The win over the Pacers was his 60th appearance. For his career, he's averaging 2.2 points and one assist in seven minutes per game. 

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Will Bronny ever be a starter, or even a regular rotation player? Time will tell. But as he showed again on Wednesday, he's not out of place in an NBA environment. Late in the fourth quarter, as the Pacers were making a run, he hit a pull-up jumper to push the Lakers' lead back to 15. 

"Especially knowing the path, you know, the road …" LeBron James told The Athletic. "So, just proud of him. I'm super proud of him. And he belongs. He belongs."

A McDonald's All-American in high school, Bronny James signed to play for USC in college and was initially projected as a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. However, he suffered a cardiac arrest during a summer workout at USC and played sparingly in his freshman season. Despite the setback, he decided to enter the 2024 draft and was medically deemed eligible by the league. On Oct. 22, 2024, he checked into the Lakers' season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves and, together with LeBron, became the first father-son duo to appear in an NBA game. 

"Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, he's back," LeBron said Wednesday. 

"Real, meaningful minutes. I couldn't dream of better. I couldn't dream of something better than that. Just couldn't," LeBron continued. "For him to go out and, you know, I mean obviously he's… he's shown over this -- almost two years, year and a half -- his progression. And why he belongs in this league. And what he can do in this league.

"So, for the coaching staff to trust him tonight, and for him to have significant playing time and make … make plays -- and for me to be out there on the floor with him -- that's … I couldn't, I couldn't dream of a better feeling than that. I could not."

The 47-26 Lakers, who have won 13 of their last 15 games, are in third place in the Western Conference with a 1½-game lead over the fourth-place Denver Nuggets. The Lakers also own the season tiebreaker over the Nuggets thanks to Luka Dončić's game-winner earlier this month, which puts them in the driver's seat for the No. 3 seed.