EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The NBA playoffs are old hat for LeBron James. When the Los Angeles Lakers open their first-round series against the Houston Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), James will tie Karl Malone and John Stockton for the most playoff appearances in league history with 19.
James, 41, is looking forward to a new experience in the postseason this spring, however: sharing the court with his 21-year-old son, Bronny James.
“Me being on the floor with him,” LeBron James said after practice Thursday, “it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career, above everything that I’ve accomplished. So, the fact that he’s put himself in a position to get his number called for a postseason game is pretty remarkable and pretty cool given the circumstances that he’s been given the last couple years.
“He earned it, he deserves it, and he’ll be ready.”
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The second-year Lakers guard cracked coach JJ Redick’s rotation late in the season after L.A.’s starting backcourt of Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) were sidelined.
In the Lakers’ final six games, Bronny James averaged 7.2 points on 47.2% shooting (42.9% from 3), with 1.8 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 17.2 minutes a night.
“I mean, it’s what I’ve wanted,” Bronny said Thursday. “My dream is to play in the playoffs. I wasn’t able to play in March, so this is a bigger stage than that, and I’m completely and totally excited to get out there with my teammates.”
He missed the South Bay Lakers’ playoff run last month while being called up from the G League to fortify the Lakers’ bench after the Doncic and Reaves injuries. He didn’t play in March Madness in his lone season in college, either, as USC went 15-18 and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
And though he appeared in two playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, he logged just four minutes combined at the end of Games 1 and 3 when the Lakers were already well on their way to double-digit losses.
The No. 55 pick in the 2024 draft progressed from his rookie to sophomore campaigns in the league, finishing this season averaging 2.9 points on 40.9% shooting (38.6% from 3) and 1.2 assists, up from 2.3 points on 31.3% (28.1% from 3) and 0.8 assists a year ago.
“We’re going to have to have all hands on deck for the series,” Redick said this week. “When you’re short-handed, he’s got to be ready. … I think Bronny’s improved a lot. I think we trust him. The shooting piece I’m a believer in because of how well he’s shot it for the last two years in the G League. … He’s improved a ton defensively, in terms of his body positioning both on- and off-ball.”
Bronny’s father said the No. 4-seeded Lakers had “really good” practices in preparation for the No. 5-seed Rockets — although he spoke to reporters with a hoarse voice as he was getting over being sick.
“Nothing changes for me from the regular season to the postseason besides just [having] even more heightened focus,” LeBron James said. “The only thing that changes in the postseason, you just know that you are going to be playing the same team at least four times — so you got to key in on them and understand like tendencies even more and be more thorough.”
The elder James’ preparation has set an example for his son, and the team, to follow.
“He’s been in the playoffs I don’t know how many times,” Bronny said. “So, he’s won series, won Finals. I think we just need to have our mind open and ears open and listen to whatever he says because he knows the most. He’s only saying that because he wants to win. So, he’s going to help us do that and we just got to listen to him.”
