Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James had his father, LeBron James, as his teammate for his first two seasons in the NBA, but that is no longer the case. LeBron has left for the Philadelphia 76ers, and while some felt his departure was bad news for Bronny, former NBA player Matt Barnes thinks it is the opposite.
TMZ recently caught up with Barnes and asked him about Bronny’s future.
“A lot of people want to say his dad got him drafted,” Barnes said. “And that may be true, may not be true, but Bronny has a lot of talent. And I just thought if he would have even stayed one more year [at USC], he could have did it on his own. So I think, now he’s going into year three, if I’m not mistaken. I definitely think he’s got some talent, and he’s someone that’s just going to have to show the world to shut people up.
“I think it’s great now that obviously Bron is gone and Bronny’s kind of on his own,” Barnes continued. “I think that’s something that he was kind of looking forward to, to kind of just say, ‘Hey, you know, I could do this without my dad.’”
It’s a widespread notion that LeBron is the only reason the Lakers selected Bronny with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. It was seen as a way to keep their superstar happy, considering how his son’s college career had gone.
Bronny had headed to the University of Southern California in 2023, and disaster struck before he even played a game. He suffered a cardiac arrest on July 24, 2023, during a practice session at USC and had to be rushed to a hospital.
Bronny was quickly declared stable, but there were doubts about whether he’d keep playing basketball. He chose to continue, but you knew he wouldn’t make much of an impact during his freshman year at USC after that medical emergency. Bronny would average just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in 2023-24 and then chose to go pro.
Barnes wishes Bronny had just stayed another year at USC. That might have been ideal for his development, and there would have also been less chatter about nepotism.
It was clear early on that Bronny wasn’t ready for the NBA, but he has shown improvement over time. The 21-year-old averaged 2.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26, and Barnes was asked here if he had any advice for the youngster.
“Just keep doing your thing, man,” Barnes said. “Shut the bulls*** out. I think his dad’s probably been able to teach him that. The only thing that matters is his circle and his game. And I know he’s been working hard on his game. I’ve seen him play a lot of golf. He’s nice at golf, too. But I think that he’s locked in, and I think he has a chip on his shoulder to be able to prove people that he’s able to do it without his pops.”
It will be interesting to see how big a role Bronny has with the Lakers next season. They don’t have many good defenders, and with defense being his calling card, we might see him on the court more than in years past.
Now, many wondered whether Bronny would even be on the Lakers roster once LeBron left. It became clear quickly, though, that they wanted to keep him and would ask for real value in any trade. The Lakers like what they have seen from Bronny so far and would want to see him make further progress in 2026-27.