Third-year Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James has been supporting his franchise from the sidelines at the ongoing Las Vegas Summer League, rather than participating in the action.
This hasn’t gone down well with scores of Lakers fans, who feel that Bronny should be getting some summer reps in — albeit against lesser competition.
“He should be playing, no?” asked one fan on Instagram, citing the fact that Bronny averaged just 8.9 minutes as a sophomore.
“Not gone lie Bonny needs to be playing lol boy average 4 points last year. Go get some work in,” wrote another fan in a post by NBA on Prime‘s IG account.
Further to the fans’ point, the son of LeBron James showed flashes of a good perimeter defender last year, but struggled to turn into a consistent rotational piece for JJ Redick. To his credit, he did shoot a respectable 40.9% from the field and 38.6% from three after shooting 31.3% from the field and 28.1% from deep as a rookie in 2024-25.
Lakers Fans Upset With Bronny James
Several other Lakers fans shared strong opinions on Bronny sitting out the Summer League, with some also defending his decision.
“Why he ain’t in the summer league earning stripes,” wrote one fan in the NBA Summer League’s official IG account.
“If Carter Bryant playing in the summer league [for the San Antonio Spurs] Bronny should be playing and Carter Bryant had a way better season then bronny u never to good to get extra work in ya first couple seasons,” wrote one fan.
Meanwhile, some fans still believe the Lakers only guaranteed Bronny James’s $2.29M salary to entice LeBron to stay, and now have no basketball reason to keep the rookie on the roster.
“Why Bronny still a laker 💀”
“Lakers gonna waive the kid… watch 😂”
Bronny James Sits Out Summer League
LakeShow Life’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk defended Bronny’s decision by citing the fact that he played meaningful minutes in last season’s playoffs — notably in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
“After playing meaningful postseason hoops with the Lakers in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, the franchise may just believe that Bronny is too good to be sent to summer league anymore,” wrote the Lakers writer. “That is the simplest conclusion to take away from James not being included on this year’s squad.
“Bronny only got a spot in the playoff rotation due to the injuries Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered, but it was still encouraging to have moments like Game 3 where James outscored the entire Houston Rockets bench,” he added.
Elsewhere, The Sporting News’ Billy Heyen feels that the Lakers’ decision to guarantee Bronny’s 2026-27 salary was a clear sign that LeBron James’ son would sit out.
“For one, it’s not clear the development it would give to Bronny at this point. He’s proven he can play in the G League, and even in spot minutes in the NBA. He’d perform well in Summer League, but it makes more sense for the Lakers to give minutes to other potential developmental pieces.
“Bronny also recently had his contract fully guaranteed at $2.3 million for the 2026-27 season. He isn’t competing for a roster spot, so the Lakers will give the summer action to players who still are battling.”
Lakers Fans Furious Over Latest Bronny James Development