For one night in October 2024, Bronny James did not have to worry about finding his place in the Lakers’ rotation. He only had to look to his right. There stood LeBron James. When father and son checked into the Lakers’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA regular-season game.

It was a moment that made Bronny’s place in Los Angeles feel almost impossible to separate from his father’s. Nearly two years later, that part of the story is gone. LeBron is now in Philadelphia, while Bronny remains in Los Angeles entering his third NBA season. The Lakers have chosen to keep investing in the 21-year-old, but the expectations around that decision are becoming clearer. According to Tyler Watts of Lake Show Life, the Lakers now need Bronny to find a real role over the next two seasons.

JJ Redick has already given Bronny a blueprint for finding that role. Watts believes the guard has not followed it closely enough. “The Lakers must quickly figure it out. Bronny has to improve and cement himself in the rotation. Redick gave him the blueprint, but James isn’t following it,” Watts wrote.

“Bronny has an opportunity. That is all fans can ask for after his first two years. Now it is on the guard to adapt, or it will be time for the purple and gold to move on.”

What NBA role can Bronny actually own?

The Lakers have already made their choice

On June 30, Los Angeles guaranteed Bronny’s $2.296 million salary for the 2026-27 season. That meant the team was choosing to keep developing him after a sophomore season in which he showed some meaningful improvement.

The Lakers are trying to build a championship team around Luka Doncic. They have added players such as Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle, Jaden Hardy and others during a major roster reshaping after LeBron’s departure. That means there are more players competing for meaningful minutes, not fewer.

And that makes the next question even harder for Bronny: what can he give the Lakers that earns him those minutes?

Redick already showed Bronny the path

Redick has already shown Bronny the kind of guard he wants him to become, pointing to T.J. McConnell and Davion Mitchell as examples.

“On every single possession, they’re in the game — whether that’s offensively or defensively — they’re able to impact it with how hard they play,” Redick said. “With the defensive pickup points, the disruption, being able to get downhill … I think we have all seen these amazing flashes of it from Bronny.”

The challenge is turning those flashes into something Redick can trust every night.

The numbers show why the comparison matters

During the 2025-26 season, McConnell averaged 5.1 assists in 17.2 minutes per game. That translated to 10.7 assists per 36 minutes.

Mitchell, meanwhile, averaged 6.5 assists in 28.6 minutes and 8.2 assists per 36 minutes.

Bronny averaged 4.9 assists per 36 minutes.

McConnell brings playmaking. Mitchell brings defense, shooting and enough creation to stay involved.

“Bronny James is a player without a position. He is too small to be a two and doesn’t have the playmaking chops to thrive as a point guard,” Watts wrote.

It is a blunt assessment, but the numbers help explain it. If Bronny plays point guard, can he create enough offense? If he plays shooting guard, can he shoot and defend well enough to justify being on the floor without the ball? And if defense is his biggest selling point, can he make that impact consistently?

Bronny has actually improved

He shot 40.9% from the field in 2025-26 after shooting 31.3% as a rookie. His three-point shooting also jumped from 28.1% to 38.6%. His minutes increased from 6.7 per game to 8.9, while his scoring went from 2.3 points per game to 2.9 and his assists rose from 0.8 to 1.2.

Bronny eventually received more opportunities late in the season, particularly when injuries forced the Lakers to look deeper into their bench. He even played in the postseason and had a memorable moment alongside LeBron against Houston.

So if the numbers are moving in the right direction, why hasn’t a clear role followed?

Improvement has not solved the bigger problem

That leaves Bronny needing to turn his defensive flashes, improved shooting and decision-making into a package Redick can use consistently.

The Lakers coach praised Bronny’s on-ball defense after a strong stretch against Miami, pointing to his containment and physicality.

But his overall defensive numbers have not yet turned that promise into a clear identity. His defensive rating was 114.8 as a rookie and 117.7 in his second season, with a 116.8 mark across his NBA career.

That makes consistency the next step. If defense is going to be the skill that keeps Bronny on the floor, the Lakers need to see it night after night.

His shooting may give him another way in

His 38.6% three-point shooting in 2025-26 gives him a legitimate foundation as a floor spacer.

That matters even more on a Lakers team built around Luka Doncic.

Doncic is going to have the ball in his hands. Austin Reaves will also carry offensive responsibility.

The Lakers do not need Bronny to become a primary scorer. They need him to make life easier for their stars knock down open threes, make the extra pass, attack closeouts and make opposing guards work.

For a player fighting for eight or ten minutes, those small contributions can decide whether he stays on the floor.

LeBron’s departure changes the pressure

With LeBron gone, Bronny’s place on the Lakers now has to stand on its own. The team has moved into a new era built around Doncic, and every guard competing for minutes has to show why he belongs.

Reaves, Sexton, Grimes, Thybulle and Hardy all give the Lakers different options around Doncic. For Bronny, the path is simple: whatever role he earns has to give the Lakers something they cannot get as easily from those players.

That is what makes his next season so important.

The blueprint is there. Now comes the hard part

Redick has already shown Bronny the kind of guard he believes can succeed despite his size. Watts has made the stakes clear: Bronny has to turn those flashes into a role the Lakers can trust.

The Lakers have kept the door open. Now Bronny has to give them a reason to keep opening it.

If he cannot, the question may eventually stop being where Bronny James fits in the Lakers’ rotation and become something much bigger:

whether there is still a place for him in Los Angeles at all.