The Los Angeles Lakers were very close to getting humiliated twice in two games. On Friday, they already endured a painful collapse against the Warriors. Last night, they nearly produced another, this time against the Toronto Raptors, when a comfortable fourth-quarter lead suddenly became a five-point game. JJ Redick had to bring his starters back to finish the job.
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Two turnovers in 43 seconds transformed a comfortable blowout into an emergency, triggering post-game consequences for Bronny James and the reserve unit.
The Lakers eventually escaped with a 131-125 win. But the final stretch was anything but a painful watch. Redick had taken his starters off the floor with the game seemingly under control with a 14-point lead. Only to put them back in with 43 seconds left in the game and a 5-point lead to secure.
Redick addressed the decision after the game. Visible frustration showed during the post-game press conference as Redick paced before taking the podium.
“Yeah, I mean, it started with the group that was on there. You know, those guys got put in a spot. And again, it’s like, there’s no, like, we’re gonna go run offense, right? Because, like, you play against these teams, it’s literally grab and hold, foul, trap, foul. We just didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball in that situation. So I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll leave the guys in. You know, you got to play to the final buzzer, and if guys are not ready to play, then I just won’t put them in,” Reddick said.
With under two minutes remaining, it looked like an easy task.
Instead, the reserve group struggled against Toronto’s pressure, turning a comfortable finish into an emergency. Quentin Grimes, Bronny James, Cameron Carr, Jaden Hardy, and Jarred Vanderbilt were among those involved in the chaotic sequence.
Grimes and Bronny gave away two turnovers each in the stretch. Standard rest management led Redick to clear his bench with a 14-point cushion, but the third-string lineup lacked a primary ball-handler equipped to navigate Toronto’s full-court trap-and-foul strategy.
With the Raptors applying pressure, the Lakers struggled to protect possession, and Reddick called a timeout.
He sent Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler back onto the court. The scare indeed turned uncomfortable, given that the Warriors had erased a 25-point Lakers lead just 48 hours earlier.
The last one-minute stretch gave Lakers fans plenty to discuss, with Bronny quickly becoming a target of the online backlash. Criticism spiked within minutes across X, Reddit, and Instagram following the final buzzer, as clip highlights of the turnovers racked up over half a million views within hours.
Bronny James Faces Brutal Lakers Fan Reactions
What started as isolated comments on X quickly spread across basketball subreddits and Instagram fan pages as the night progressed. While all 5 reserves were equally responsible for the fumble, Bronny had his spotlight on. One fan joked: “Bronny 26/27 season mixtape”
The sarcastic post captured the frustration surrounding the young guard’s limited opportunities and highly scrutinized performances. Bronny remains a developmental player on a team with immediate championship ambitions, leaving little room for mistakes when he gets on the floor. His appearance in the Raptors sequence only intensified the attention he already receives.
Another fan wrote: “Nepotism, D’Angelo Russell is literally way better lmao”
The comparison brought D’Angelo Russell back into the conversation. Russell is no longer in the NBA and has moved to the Shanghai Sharks in China, but his previous experience as a Lakers guard gives the comparison its bite. For critics, the idea that the franchise could have used a more established ball-handler instead of relying on Bronny reflects their concerns about the team’s guard depth.
This fan wrote: “So we chose this clown over DK?”
Here, the reference was to Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ former first-round pick in the same class as Bronny. Knecht’s departure has become another talking point among fans questioning the team’s roster decisions. The comparison highlights lingering fan frustration over losing a proven shooting prospect while Bronny remains in a development role.
This fan offered a harsher assessment: “Worst player in the league”
That is an extreme judgment, particularly for a young player still trying to establish himself. Bronny’s NBA role has been limited, and a short stretch of garbage-time basketball is hardly enough to measure his overall potential. Still, the reaction reflects how little patience some Lakers supporters have for developmental minutes when the team is expected to compete now.
Finally, one fan joked: “Bronny gonna announce his retirement before his Dad lmao”
His father, LeBron James, continues to play at an elite level deep into his career, while Bronny is still fighting to find a consistent place in the rotation. That gap makes the joke easy social media material, even if it says little about what the younger James could become.
After two consecutive scares, Redick has made his expectations clear: he will make players earn their garbage-time minutes.