The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to see a big jump from second-year guard Bronny James during the 2025-26 NBA season. While he showed good flashes during Summer League action, he still has a lot of work to do.
James knows that he has an uphill battle ahead of him. He is not the most talented young player on the roster, but he’s willing to put in the work.
However, he is still dealing with some lingering issues that came from the cardiac arrest that he suffered during his tenure with the USC Trojans in college.
While James was able to resume his basketball career following his recovery, there are still changes to his body that occurred.
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Recently, as shared by ESPN, James spoke out about the problems that have come up stemming from the cardiac arrest. He thinks that his immune system was impacted, as he gets sick much easier now than he did before.
“I get kind of sick easier now,” James said. “Which is kind of weird, but I think it messed with my immune system a little bit. So, I would have times where I have to sit out, and that conditioning that I’m working on just goes away in that week of me being out.”
Even though going through such a traumatic situation would impact most, James has been able to focus on basketball. He is simply enjoying his second chance at life.
As a rookie with the Lakers, James played in 27 games and made one start. He averaged 6.7 minutes per game and produced 2.3 points, 0.8 assists, and 0.7 rebounds per game.
During his time in the G-League, James played very well. He appeared in 11 games for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 21.9 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 steals. He also shot 44 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three-point range.
James also shared recently that he’s focused on the defensive side of the court. He believes that becoming an elite defender will help him earn playing time.
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“There’s gonna be guys that can score 15, 20 a game,” James said. “I’m most likely not going to be that guy right now… I’ve got to be a defensive menace.”
Clearly, the young Los Angeles guard knows what he needs to do. Becoming a defensive ace would be very helpful to earn minutes.
Only time will tell, but James is working hard to improve and is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. He has been through a lot already, but that isn’t something he has allowed to get him down.
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