Bronny James has spent the first two seasons of his NBA career fighting for minutes in an injury-plagued rotation. The 2024 second-round draft pick has turned heads at times, but up to this point, he's yet to find a consistent role under Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
As James searches for answers and direction, he should have his eyes squarely on a player to whom he favorable compares: New York Knicks guard Miles McBride.
McBride is a fifth-year combo guard who struggled mightily during his first two NBA seasons. Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, he averaged 3.0 points, 1.1 assists, 0.9 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 three-point field goals made in just 10.9 minutes per game. He shot at a clip of just .337/.282/.667.
McBride flipped a switch during his third NBA season, however, rather suddenly emerging as a knockdown shooter who provided invaluable energy and intensity on defense.
McBride averaged 8.3 points, 1.7 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 1.6 three-point field goals made that year. He did so on .452/.410/.860 shooting. In turn, he proved that a 6'2" guard who isn't necessarily known for shot creation or playmaking could receive meaningful minutes—19.2 per game, to be exact—on a playoff team.
Fast forward two years and McBride averaged 26.3 minutes per game for the Knicks in 2025-26. He's now playing critical minutes for New York in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Miles McBride struggled early, but proved a 6'2" combo guard can play winning basketball
The good news for James is that he's already made some of the progress in two seasons that it took McBride three years to make. James shot 38.6 percent from beyond the arc in 2025-26, for instance, all the while receiving praise for his effort on defense.
For James to take on a role with a higher volume of minutes, however, he'll need to do what McBride managed to: Prove himself indespensible.
McBride's defensive intensity not only helped him play bigger than he is, but enabled him to share the court with another undersized guard in Jalen Brunson. That was the key to McBride becoming undeniable, as he proved that the Knicks wouldn't hemorrhage points when he was on the court with their best player.
James thankfully has fellow guards who are ideal or even elite in their size, but much like Brunson, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves aren't necessarily revered for their defense.
If James can follow McBride's lead and shoot the lights out in 2026-27, that would be a massive first step toward securing more minutes. Even if the ball is rarely in his hands, shooting efficiently and cutting down on his fouls and general mistakes on defense should get him a stronger role.
It's been difficult to land on who James should be patterning his game after as a 6'2" tweener, but McBride is proving in the NBA Finals to have the blueprint for the Lakers guard's success.
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