The Los Angeles Lakers have begun to move away from LeBron James and toward a future built around the much younger Luka Doncic. In the process, Bronny James has gone from fan sensation to a franchise afterthought as the team and the media move on from the James family.
Wednesday night was a special night for LeBron James, as he returned home to Cleveland for what may be his last game in his home state. The Akron-native was in tears as he watched a tribute video, had his mom in attendance, and seemed to enjoy connecting with friends and family.
The game became extra special for LeBron and Gloria, his mother, when second-year guard Bronny James checked into the game. He wasn't coming in as a part of the rotation, however, but rather because the Cleveland Cavaliers were blowing the doors off of the Lakers and head coach JJ Redick was waving the white flag. Bronny was a part of the scrub brigade.
That's the reality for Bronny in his second season; he's a rotational afterthought. Were the Lakers to have kept the game close or been in a position to win on Wednesday, it would have happened without Bronny ever touching the court. As it was, he was able to score a trio os baskets in front of a crowd that was happy to cheer him on as a part of the nostalgia of it all.
The Lakers are moving away from Bronny James
The Lakers, however, have ceased to cheer for Bronny. They have ceased to make his presence on the team meaningful in any way. The reason why? Because everything about Bronny -- drafting him, giving him a chance in the rotation, the media covering him -- was always only about LeBron James.
The Lakers drafted Bronny as a favor to his father. It's the kind of thing that franchises do for superstar players. It's why Thanasis Antetokounmpo is with the Milwaukee Bucks, and why Seth Curry is on the Golden State Warriors. It's common practice in the NBA.
Yet the idea that drafting LeBron James Jr. was about anything other than LeBron James Sr. is missing the point. But what that means is that now, as the Lakers turn the franchise away from the quadragenarian and build it around Luka Doncic instead, Bronny becomes incidental, an afterthought, a player filling up a roster spot but with no real value to the franchise or interest to media.
Google searches for Bronny James have dropped precipitously, down as much as 80 percent from last season. Articles focused on Bronny have disappeared from the major outlets. The Lakers' injuries have pressed Bronny into service more this season, but his usage rate is down as he isn't fed touches intentionally anymore.
Bronny James is not entirely without NBA skills. He is athletic, he has good defensive instincts, he has decent passing vision. But if he had anything to offer the Lakers, a team in desperate need of role players, he would be playing. That may be an indictment on them, an indictment on Bronny, but it's not in support of a long NBA career.
The way in was on his father's coattails. That's fine. But the way to sticking around is proving himself worthy of an NBA roster spot. Thus far, he has fallen short, and the team most invested in caring about him doesn't believe in him. As they turn away from LeBron, they turn away from Bronny, too.
The end of the road may be coming for Bronny James.