Bronny James keeps Lakers fans guessing about playing status in season opener, reveals how he’ll address LeBron James during games
The LA Lakers open their season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, and there’s no guarantee that Bronny James will play. He isn’t expected to be a key rotation player to start the season. James’ rookie season should be more about development with the Lakers’ G-League team, the South Bay Lakers.
James spoke to reporters during Monday's shootaround. When asked if he knows whether he will play in Tuesday's game, he said, via Sportskeeda's Mark Medina:
“I don’t.”
Bronny was also asked how he would address his father, LeBron James, while they are together on the team.
“Probably Bron. That probably will be the easiest one,” Bronny said.
During an appearance on The Shop in August, LeBron said Bronny isn’t allowed to call him dad on the court.
“Once we leave out the private facility and the gates close, I could be dad again, in the car if we ride together, at home I could be dad. We cannot be running down the court, and he'd be like, ‘Dad, push the ball up! Dad, I'm open! Dad, come on!’” LeBron said.
The four-time champion suggested that Bronny should instead call him “23”, “Bron” or the “GOAT.”
JJ Redick praised Bronny James after final preseason game
The LA Lakers went just 2-4 in the preseason and rested most of their stars for the final game against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. While the Lakers succumbed to a lopsided 132-74 loss, LA coach JJ Redick was happy with the improvement he saw in Bronny James’ game.
"So, again, I think for him, I'm sure it felt good to have 17 points," he said, via Yardbreaker. "I'm not even remotely concerned about that. It's not even on my radar. We're trying to help him grow into a great basketball player. I'm sure he feels good about it, and he should.
“That's important for, I think, every basketball player that's ever touched the court to score points, but some of the other stuff I've seen real improvement and some attention to detail. And I've seen that from all our young guys. So yeah, I'm encouraged by all of it."
Bronny James had his best stats in the preseason game, finishing the contest with 17 points and four rebounds in 35 minutes.