Bronny James finally got a real shot. 

On the tail end of a back-to-back on Thursday against Milwaukee, following a brutal stretch of six games in eight days, the Los Angeles Lakers were bareboned, with six players out for various ailments, including LeBron James because of a strained groin, and Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to ankle soreness. 

That meant the oft-maligned 20-year-old rookie was going to get some real playing time. 

Less than two years ago, Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice at USC and was in the ICU, with his future up in the air. Since then, he has not only battled his way back onto the court, but has done so under intense scrutiny, following the Lakers’ decision to select him as the 55th overall pick in the 2024 draft. His father is one of the greatest players of all-time, which means a player picked so low in the draft was given unprecedented microscope treatment, subjecting him to becoming a regular punchline on national TV. 

Nepotism. A joke. Undeserving.

Bronny tried to put his head down and block out the noise. He focused on the work. He usually plays garbage-time minutes after the crowd at Crypto.com Arena pleads with Lakers coach JJ Redick to put him in the game, making their case with an emphatic “We want Bronny” chant.

But against the Bucks, no begging was required. The Lakers needed him. He was finally about to have enough time to ease into a game. To develop a rhythm. To not just be a caricature, used to delight crowds for a blink of an eye. 

In 30 minutes, Bronny had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting (2-for-4 from beyond the arc), three rebounds, five assists and one blocked shot.

He drove into the lane. He pulled up for 3-pointers. He was unafraid. At one point, he went one-on-one against two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, crossing the ball over twice, and blowing past the 6-foot-11 big man before losing the ball out of bounds. (He later smiled when asked about the play and said he might’ve gotten fouled.)

The point is, Bronny didn’t look like a kid who was out of his league. He looked like a kid who could belong in the league — who would belong.

“I think the next step is just becoming like an elite-conditioned athlete,” Redick said. “Because when does that, with his physical tools and just his burst and his handle, we think he’s going to be an above-average to really good NBA shooter. He’s gonna have a chance to really make an impact.” 

Bronny is quiet and understated. In the locker rooms after games, he rarely chats with other players. He’s respectful. He acts like a rookie who’s grateful to be in the room, not the son of a billionaire.

Bronny has heard all the chatter about him. How could it not affect a 20-year-old who’s trying to make a name for himself? No other 55th pick in the draft has been subjected to so much scrutiny. 

His strategy to deal with it all?  

“Just putting my head down and working,” Bronny said. “I feel like that’s the only thing that I can control right now is going in every day and staying ready to play, staying ready to learn, getting the work in after hours, early mornings, stuff like that. Just all the controllables that I can do myself. There’s not really much I can do [about] people, random people, talking about me every day. Can’t really do much about that, so I just go in the gym and work, put my head down and try to get better.”

Before Thursday, it had been easy to poke at Bronny. He was averaging 1.6 points on 26.3 percent shooting (22.7 percent from 3) in 4.7 minutes a game through 21 games. Despite those numbers being typical for someone selected so late in the draft, they’ve left Bronny wide open to scrutiny.

After going scoreless in a game for the Lakers, ESPN’s Stephen A Smith went onto “First Take” on Jan. 29 and said, “I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”

LeBron, who has been under a blinding spotlight since he was a teenager, drew the line with that comment. During the third quarter of a Lakers game earlier this month, he approached Smith as he sat courtside, and told him to leave his son alone. 

After Thursday’s game, Smith had a different take on Bronny. 

“I might have been wrong,” Smith said.

Bronny is just trying to ignore it all. He doesn’t have to play professional basketball. He doesn’t need the money. He also doesn’t need this. He’s grinding in the G League because he wants to be a professional basketball player, even if it means, in the meantime, he’s a professional punching bag. 

With the South Bay Lakers, he’s averaging 20.6 points on 43.1% shooting (36.1% from 3), 5.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 33.5 minutes a game in nine contests. His numbers keep getting better and better. The Lakers are starting to trust him more. 

Against Denver on March 14, the Lakers were shorthanded and he got to play 16 minutes. And on Thursday, with nearly double that time on the court, he had a chance to show what he can do. 

“I was given an opportunity tonight to go show them what I’ve been working on while I’ve been sitting on the bench, in the G League getting reps, stuff like that,” Bronny said.

It has been an incredible journey for him, from fighting for his life to now making his doubters do a double-take. 

Bronny is showing that he’s not just the son of LeBron James. 

He’s a kid who’s working his butt off, trying to make his dream come true. 

And after Thursday’s performance, he may not be as far off from doing that as his detractors thought.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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