Second-year guard Bronny James finished with five points, six assists and a steal in 19 minutes of action as the Los Angeles Lakers romped to a 123-115 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
After the game, Lakers legend James Worthy said Bronny James likely enjoyed the “best game of his NBA career,” citing the second-generation player’s energy, hustle and ability to lock up his opponents with ferocious on-ball defense.
“I thought this might have been Bronny’s best game of his NBA career,” said Worthy, who helped the Lakers win three NBA championships in the 1980s.
Bronny became the first Laker player this season to finish with six or more assists while committing zero turnovers. According to the Real Sports App, LeBron James was the last Lakers player to maintain such an assist-to-turnover ratio, way back in January.
Bronny James Earns Valuable Minutes
For the second consecutive game, Bronny logged valuable minutes in the fourth quarter, after he played 6:57 down the stretch of the 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat. In Monday’s win, the son of LeBron James played 5:10 in the fourth quarter, making a huge three and coming away with an assist in the business end of the game.
LakeShowHighlights praised Bronny’s hustle in the third quarter, when he had three assists and a steal, helping the Lakers outscore the Blazers, 38-33, in a close game.
“That 3rd quarter stint he had hustling on both ends of the floor I felt like changed the game completely for the Lakers, they took back the lead and never looked back,” wrote the popular X account.
“The little things Bronny does on the floor doesn’t show up in the box score and that is okay. His feel to the game is growing more and more as each game passes by, especially on the defensive end. Having a mentor like Marcus Smart has been so huge for him.”
Bronny James Locks Up Jrue Holiday
It’s worth highlighting that Bronny James held Jrue Holiday to 1-of-3 shooting in 1:38 of matchup time and caused similar problems for Caleb Love, who also shot 33% when checked by the Lakers guard.
Bronny has previously spoken about his desire to emulate Holiday, a two-time NBA champion, and become a lockdown defender at the pro level. As such, it was rather poetic for Bronny to prove his chops against the player whom he idolizes.
While defense was his calling card on Monday, Bronny ended his cold spell from three-point range, making his first shot from deep after going 0-of-3 in previous games. Overall, in 65 minutes of playing time, Bronny has logged 7 points, 11 assists, 5 steals and a block through five games of the 2025-26 season.
Bronny will likely continue to receive valuable playing time if he continues to excel in his role as an on-ball defender. Lakers head coach JJ Redick felt Bronny made the “play of the game” in Sunday’s victory over the Heat.
“Now I’ve seen it twice over the last week or so — he was really just a force in terms of containment and physicality,” Redick said of Bronny’s on-ball defense.
“Then he made arguably the play of the game: when Luka was double-teamed, he was the next guy, drove the closeout, got to the paint, read the defense, and ended up getting his teammate a wide-open three.”
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