“I Could Do This Without My Dad”: Bronny James Will Thrive After LeBron’s Exit, Says Ex-Laker

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA carrying the weight of being one of the first prep-to-pro guards drafted into a league. He spent his rookie year buried on the bench, airballing four shots in a playoff elimination game, absorbing criticism that he was overhyped and unready. Three years later, he had shed every doubt with a game that spoke entirely for itself. Bronny James is entering his third NBA season carrying a different but equally tough question, and for the first time in his career, the answer will have nothing to do with who his father is.

Matt Barnes, the former Lakers forward and longtime NBA veteran, addressed Bronny’s path forward now that LeBron James has left for Philadelphia.

“A lot of people want to say his dad got him drafted, and that may be true, may not be true, but Bronny has a lot of talent,” Barnes said on TMZ Sports. “I just thought if he would even stay one more year, he could have did it on his own.

"So now he’s going into year three," he added. "I definitely think he’s got some talent, and he’s someone that’s just going to have to show the world to shut people up. I think it’s great now that obviously Bron is gone and he’s kind of on his own. I think that’s something he was looking forward to — to just say, hey, I could do this without my dad.”

Bronny appeared in 42 games during the 2025-26 season, averaging 2.9 points, 1.2 assists, and 0.5 rebounds while shooting 40.9% from the field and 38.6% from three. A meaningful jump from a rookie-year three-point percentage of just 28.1%. He made his first career start and found extended playing time down the stretch and into the playoffs when injuries to Doncic and Reaves opened rotation minutes.

His $2.296 million salary for 2026-27 became fully guaranteed in June. And the Lakers have given no indication they intend to move on from him despite an offseason overhaul that saw at least six new regular-rotation players arrive and LeBron himself depart.

Bronny is now, notably, the third-longest-tenured player on the Lakers’ roster. A fact he has joked about publicly given how much roster turnover has surrounded him in just two years.

The Lakers hold a team option worth roughly $2.49 million on Bronny for 2027-28. Meaning this season functions as an audition not just for playing time, but for whether the organization extends the developmental runway at all.

Why LeBron’s Departure Actually Removes Pressure Rather Than Adding It

Every minute Bronny played over the past two seasons arrived with a built-in asterisk. Was he playing because he earned it, or because the front office wanted to keep LeBron happy? That question dissolved the moment LeBron signed elsewhere.

If Bronny earns rotation minutes in 2026-27, there is no longer a plausible argument that outside influence is driving the decision. Rob Pelinka and the coaching staff will be making a purely basketball-based call on a roster built specifically to compete around Luka Doncic, with no incentive to play a struggling reserve for reasons unrelated to winning.

The Lakers have a crowded backcourt featuring Doncic, Reaves, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton. Meaning his path to consistent minutes runs through outplaying that competition rather than inheriting playing time by default.

Represented by Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, Bronny will also be looking toward a second NBA contract that pays him at market value rather than a hometown discount. Barnes believes the talent is real and whether this is the year Bronny proves it without any remaining doubt about why he’s on the floor is now entirely up to him.