Lakers' Bronny James is living up to NBA Draft hype in one important way

Contributing Writer
Lakers' Bronny James is living up to NBA Draft hype in one important way image

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

In 33 career NBA games, Bronny James has given his critics plenty of ammunition.

LeBron James' eldest son has a career average of 2.2 points per game. His career field goal percentage sits at 29.6 percent. He has bounced between the Los Angeles Lakers and their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, out in El Segundo.

However, Bronny James is quietly living up to some of the NBA Draft hype and is starting to tap into his potential as a "3-and-D" guard under JJ Redick. In six games this season, the former 55th overall pick is warranting additional consideration — and minutes — from Redick for one key ability he has.

Bronny James: lockdown defender

The biggest reason why Bronny's minutes have nearly doubled from last year (6.7 to 11.8 per game) is because his defense has been able to keep him on the floor.

In six games, Bronny has forced seven turnovers. And despite the trickiness of evaluating a player through his defended field goal percentage, Bronny has held opponents to just a 42.3 shooting percentage when he is the primary defender.

That's the third-best mark on the Lakers, trailing only Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton.

Though he played only five minutes in the Lakers' comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, Bronny has eclipsed 18 minutes played in three of his six games this season. He is starting to carve out a role for himself on a 7-2 Lakers team that enters a five-game road trip on a five-game winning streak. 

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