Bronny James feels he made the biggest strides defensively during preseason
While the offense is what fans tend to notice, it’s the defensive side of the ball where Bronny James feels he’s made the biggest improvement during the preseason.
Nowadays, when you mention the Lakers, you’re not too far away from the word Bronny James coming up. Whether it’s current Celtics players, talking heads, or general fans, everyone has something to say about Bronny.
But what does he have to say about his game? How does he feel he’s done in training camp and preseason action?
After unequivocally his best preseason game against the Warriors in which he finished with 17 points, three steals, and a block in 35 minutes of play, Bronny was asked where he made the biggest strides in his game during training camp and went straight into talking defense.
“[Head coach] JJ [Redick] has always emphasized being a menace on the defensive end and being disruptive,” Bronny said. “So just taking pride in picking up full court and guarding guys like Buddy Hield; he’s running all over the place, but just taking pride on the defense end is my biggest thing.”
It’s harder to quantify with stats how good Bronny is defensively. However, when you watch him play, his level of compete on that side of the ball is good. He’s fast enough to keep up with rotation-level guards and, while not the strongest, dealt with the contact and physicality of on-ball defending quite well this preseason.
While his promise was shown in defense, Bronny will need to build up his skill level offensively so that he can see more time on the floor and allow his defense to shine.
Right now, he’s a developmental player with promise, but he needs more time to sharpen his overall game. He can become an Avery Bradley type in a few seasons if he continues to make strides in his all-around game.
In the even more immediate future, it looks like Bronny will play his first minutes of NBA action on opening night against the Timberwolves.
If those minutes occur with his father, LeBron James, on the floor, it will be a historic moment for the league as the first father-son duo to ever play together on the same team at the same time.
In a league that’s 78 years old, it would be pretty special to start Year 79 with a first-ever event like this happening on national television in Los Angeles in front of the home crowd.
For Lakers fans and Bronny himself, once the moment happens, it will eventually become normal. Now that the games count, what’s going to matter more is how the team plays and where he fits in that hierarchy.
So long as he continues to be a sponge absorbing everything he can from the coaching staff Redick has put together, Bronny should be just fine if we give him the time to grow into what he will ultimately be.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.