Charles Barkley slams LA Lakers for major Bronny James decision which ‘is a bad look’ and ‘not doing him any favors’
The Los Angeles Lakers’ current strategy with rookie guard Bronny James has drawn criticism from Charles Barkley.
The 61-year-old NBA veteran expressed his thoughts on how the Lakers handled LeBron James’ son’s league development.
When the South Bay team travels, Bronny has played for the Lakers’ NBA club and at home for the G-League affiliate South Bay Lakers.
Barkley slammed the Lakers for assigning the 20-year-old to alternate between the NBA roster and home G-League games during an appearance on the BetQL Network’s The Bettor Angle show.
Barkley responded, “Awful,” to the way the Lakers handled Bronny.
“I thought the small celebration for his first game was fantastic. The child isn’t prepared to play in the NBA, though. In order for him to play basketball, he ought to be in the G-League.
Read More on Bronny James
There’s also this issue where he will only play at home. It’s not fair to him and it’s ridiculous,” he added.
“The team isn’t treated fairly. Can you picture that team’s coach? You have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two after returning from a road trip. After that, you most likely feel compelled to play him.
LeBron’s involvement in his son’s developmental circumstances was also criticized by Barkley, who stated that “it’s a bad look for him (too) in my opinion.”
Bronny played in the Lakers’ first-ever home game, playing with his dad.
They were the first father-son team in the history of the NBA.
And against LeBron’s first NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bronny scored his first NBA points.
JJ Redick storms out of LA Lakers press conference after LeBron James’ LA Lakers are humiliated in 131-114 loss
But the 2024 second-round pick hasn’t shown much in the G-League or the NBA.
In the professional level, Bronny has only averaged 0.7 points per game on 16.7% shooting, while in two G-level games, he has only managed 5.0 points and 3.0 assists in 28.5 minutes.
Following two G-League games, the Lakers announced that Bronny would miss Saturday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to a left heel injury.
After that, he did not participate in the G-League game against the Stockton Kings on Sunday.
The Lakers’ choice to cut Bronny will be closely watched until he gets back on the court and gets better.
Nevertheless, with a 10-6 record, the Lakers are enjoying a strong NBA season.
With LeBron shooting a career-high 42.2 percent from three-point range thus far, they are currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference.
Read More on The US Sun
First-round pick Dalton Knecht has also been playing brilliantly for the Lakers lately; in five of his last six games, he has scored 14 points or more.
On Tuesday, LeBron and the Lakers will travel to play the Phoenix Suns in an NBA Cup match.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!