Bronny James made his long-awaited preseason debut for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really a memorable debut, as Bronny recorded just 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 3 blocks in the contest, and NBA fans had mixed reactions to his outing.

One ruthlessly stated Bronny stinks.

A fan was impressed by Bronny’s defense.

One suggested Bronny could be the next Tony Allen.

A fan is optimistic about Bronny’s NBA future.

One fan doesn’t think Bronny will be able to crack the rotation.

The biggest positive when it came to Bronny was certainly his defense and those blocks were impressive. His offensive game needs a lot of work, though. The 19-year-old nearly went scoreless on debut but managed to score with a layup in the final minute of the contest.

I don’t think anyone is surprised as such about Bronny struggling with his shot. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the NBA 2K25 Summer League and shot 35.0% from the field and 15.8% from beyond the arc.

Bronny is very raw offensively at this point and it’s unclear how good he can be on that end of the floor. If over time, he can start hitting that three-pointer consistently, he could potentially be a solid role player in the NBA. If he never quite develops that shot, though, then I can’t see him sticking around for a long time.

As for this game, the Timberwolves ended up winning 124-107. The Lakers, who were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were down by 21 points at one stage and mounted a furious comeback to cut that deficit down to one in the third quarter. They weren’t able to go ahead, though, and the Timberwolves would end up dominating in the fourth quarter to cruise to victory.

Bronny James Expected To Spend A Lot Of Time On Lakers’ Active Roster

Ever since the Lakers drafted Bronny with the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, many have wondered how much he’ll play in his rookie season. Well, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Bronny will play on opening week and will spend a lot of time on the active roster.

“LeBron James and Bronny James, we saw that duo yesterday… I would expect them to make their debut together in the opening week of the NBA season, possibly on opening night from what I’ve been told. Bronny James will spend a lot of time on the active roster. Once the G-League season starts he’s going to be shuttling back and forth.”

I hope Bronny spends a lot of time in the G League because that’s what’s best for him. Magic Johnson said James isn’t ready for the NBA just yet and I agree. After he and LeBron play together and make history, the teenager’s focus should be on the G League and working on his game.