The Los Angeles Lakers need Bronny James to embrace being a corner 3-point shooter and to lower his usage to fit next to Luka Doncic. The superstar led the NBA in usage rate last season at 36.8 percent, and he’s been in the top five for six of the last seven years. Doncic dominates the ball, and Austin Reaves is expected to take the lion’s share of what is left. To fit around the Lakers’ star duo, role players must operate without the ball and sink open shots.
Luka loves to drive and kick to the corners. The Lakers attempted 23.9 percent of their 3-point tries from the corners in the two years under head coach JJ Redick, but last season they shot at an abysmal 34.5 percent on those attempts. That was 4.9 percent worse than in 2025. Only Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura shot over 40 percent on corner threes last season. The eventual champion Knicks took 30.2 percent and hit them at 41.6 percent.
Doncic is elite at creating corner treys, but Los Angeles needs to make them. Too often, they try to do too much, like make an extra pass or attack into the mid-range. Bronny is no exception. He made just two of his eight NBA corner 3-point attempts last season. Even in the G League, just seven of his 68 threes were from the corners. It is a make-or-break year where LeBron’s son must do less to stay in LA.
Bronny James must embrace a smaller role with the Lakers
Bronny’s shooting improved last season, but he still had a 16.7 usage percentage in his 375 NBA minutes. Even over his 20 G League contests, James had a 19.5 usage rate. That doesn't seem like someone who is preparing for an off-ball role.
The Lakers signed Collin Sexton to a two-year, $19.2 million contract this summer. He will be the third creator behind Luka and AR. Bronny must accept an off-ball role as a floor spacer and energetic defender to crack the rotation. He should look at Cason Wallace as an example of a talented guard capable of doing more, but he thrives in a lesser role to help the team. The Thunder won the title in 2025 and were in the conference finals last season.
Bronny took 2.8 times as many mid-range jumpers as he did corner threes last season, despite shooting just 27.3 percent on middies. Expanding to shots from outside restricted area to the 3-point line, Bronny made 28.5 percent of 42 attempts. It is difficult to get into those areas without having the ball in your hands. James is doing too much, and it continues to backfire.
The 21-year-old shot 44.5 percent on his 110 above-the-break 3-point attempts if his G League and NBA regular season numbers are combined. He has clearly put in a ton of work on his shot, but the next evolution is embracing the needed change.
Bronny James could become an elite corner 3-point shooter
Small guards have done it playing next to Luka before. Jalen Brunson made 50.4 percent of his 131 corner 3-point attempts over his final two years playing with Luka. During the 2024 season, Kyrie Irving made 51.4 percent of his 70 corner threes taken. Those two are superstars, but the blueprint is there. Get open in the corner, and Doncic will find you.
Bronny is doing too much with the ball. He dished out 4.0 assists per game in the G League this season and had 2.6 turnovers per game. Those are not numbers the Lakers want when Luka, Reaves, or Sexton could be running the show.
Finding a role on a contender is all about buy-in. James should embrace shooting corner 3-pointers and becoming a threat in the second unit. He will struggle to play next to Collin Sexton defensively, so Bronny needs to find minutes with Doncic and/or Reaves running the show. The easiest path to playing off Luka is spotting up and being ready to knock the open look down.
James made a massive shooting leap from year one to year two in the league. The 21-year-old still has plenty of room to grow. The Lakers gave him a vote of confidence this summer by keeping him after the departure of his famous father. The next jump is buying into this role and becoming part of the rotation.
The Los Angeles Lakers need Bronny James to lower his usage and embrace taking more corner 3-pointers to fit next to Luka Doncic. They played just 30 minutes together last season. This is Luka’s team now. If Bronny wants to stick long-term, he has to find a role that Doncic can enhance. The path is right there. All James has to do is embrace it.
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