“Throw Him Out There Before Gabe Vincent”: Former Laker Pushes JJ Redick To Play Bronny James More

Aakash Nair | 28/01/2025
Nick Young (L) and Bronny James (R)

Bronny James is slowly but steadily beginning to prove his doubters wrong. The rookie picked up his second thirty-point game in the G League, setting a new career high with 31 points against the Rip City Remix on Friday. His improved performances have convinced Nick Young that he’s more deserving of a roster spot than Gabe Vincent.

Swaggy P was on his former teammate Gilbert Arenas’ podcast when he advocated for the son of LeBron James.

“The confidence he’s playing with now, I love it,” Young said on the Gil’s Arena podcast.

“I honestly think they should throw him out there in the real games too now.”

The last time Bronny saw NBA action was during the Lakers’ 117-96 home win over the Boston Celtics. The 55th pick played 4 minutes during garbage time and even attempted a field goal, ultimately finishing the night without a point.

However, in the G League, James has increased his averages to 16.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 27 minutes per game. This proved to Young that he deserves a bigger role in the NBA.

“I’ll throw him out there before Gabe Vincent,” the former Lakers wing added.

JJ Redick hasn’t heard his plea but he did re-call Bronny from the G-League ahead of the Lakers’ road game in Charlotte on Monday. Vincent picked up an injury to his left knee shortly before the Monday night matchup and the Lakers’ head coach called on LeBron’s son to pick up the slack.

At the end of night though, LA would face a tight contest against LaMelo Ball and the Hornets. Instead of calling on Bronny, Redick picked the more veteran presence of Shake Milton to play backup combo guard minutes for the team during their 112-107 win at Spectrum Center.

Of course, if it was up to Young, the 20-year-old would be much more involved in the Lakers’ gameplan.

Young has always believed in Bronny

When the Lakers picked him late in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny was opened up to much criticism. Some fans argued that he was stealing a roster spot from more deserving players, but during the entire debacle, Young remained firmly in his corner.

As early as July, 2024, Swaggy P was seen online defending the rookie’s skillset. After a shaky start to James’ Summer League, Young chimed in online to uplift the young guard.

“Bronny is not a 3 and D guy stop just saying stuff,” the 2018 NBA champion wrote on X.

He doled out some advice to James too, urging him to trust in the process.

“Play with the confidence of Thanasis like I wish a mf would say something to me and yo a** is cut or fire .. play with the confidence of my dad own the nba what they gonna do to me.. have fun out there and miss with confidence that s**t will start falling,” Young tweeted.

Clearly, Bronny heeded his advice as Swaggy P was praising the rookie’s improved confidence during the latest episode of ‘Gil’s Arena’. Whether that will lead to more NBA minutes this season though, remains to be seen.

Post Edited By: Dhruv Rupani
Bronny James Gabe Vincent Nick Young

About the author

Aakash Nair

Aakash Nair

NBA journalist Aakash Nair has followed the game for nearly a decade. He believes that basketball today is just as alive during the off-season with podcasts, interviews, articles and YouTube videos constantly providing fans with new insights. Aakash closely follows the game of narratives, of who will have a breakout year and who might be on the slump. As a fan, he is interested in all the context and behind-the-scenes moves that go into making a championship contender. As a writer, he intends to bring that same context to the forefront.

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