Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James has a person reason to look forward to the Phoenix Suns matchup Sunday.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be in the lineup Sunday evening when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns Sunday evening. James’ son Bronny James had an up and down preseason debut during Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and is expected to get some more run during Sunday’s tilt with Phoenix.
During a recent media session, the younger James revealed why the matchup with Pheonix holds a special significance for him.
“Just a grateful opportunity. I went in there, tried my hardest. Worked my butt off,” said James. “It’s going to be a special full circle moment for me playing the Suns tomorrow.”
What was James referring to?
“I had my predraft workout with them,” said James. “I went to work with some guys over there, so it’ll be good to see those guys again.”
James struggled from the field during Friday’s loss to the Timberwolves–played in Palm Springs, California as will the Suns matchup–but did show some of the potential on the defensive end of the floor that Lakers fans were hoping to see, recording multiple blocks on the evening.
Will Bronny James crack the Lakers’ rotation?
Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
At this point, it’s a bit difficult to envision Bronny James being able to find significant minutes this season unless the team is forced to endure a truly shocking amount of injuries.
At the present moment, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Dalton Knecht, and Max Christie would all figure to be ahead of James in the backcourt rotation, a fact that was likely solidified with his rough performance shooting the ball both during summer league and the Lakers’ first preseason game.
Still, that is unlikely to stop the media frenzy that will surround Lakers games until James shares the court with his father LeBron for the first time, which will mark the first time in NBA history a father-son duo will be on the court together.
The fact that the drafting of James was the most high profile move that the Lakers made this offseason does not exactly bode well for the team’s championship hopes, as the team largely fields the same roster that was eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round a season ago.
In any case, Sunday’s game vs the Suns is set to tip off at 9:30 PM ET.