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While on his The Big Podcast with co-host Adam Lefkoe, Shaquille O'Neal admitted to having some “professional jealousy” about LeBron James and Bronny James forming the first father-son duo to play in the NBA.
“I strive off of professional jealousy. I'm jealous a little bit. My son was in that position. Life is all about titles. I would have loved to have that title first. I'm happy for LeBron. He's always at the crib, playing with my boys. He's like a nephew to me. I'm happy for him. But on the professional jealousy side, I wish that was me and Shareef or me and Shaqir. But I'm happy for Bronny, I'm happy for LeBron and I wish them well.”
It's been an interesting preseason for Bronny and the Lakers. Bronny went up for a lay-up and was fouled hard by Kevin Durant. He was called for a flagrant 1 and turned around his plus/minus with +17 in that game against the Suns.
The Lakers have one preseason game left on their schedule. They play at the Golden State Warriors on Friday, October 18 at 10:30 p.m. EST.
Projecting Bronny's first season with the Lakers
It's presumed that Bronny James will spend most of the 2024-25 season in the G League, but there's been no firm plan announced or reported whether he could be a part of the Lakers' rotation.
When on ESPN LA 710 AM, Bronny acknowledged G League play was likely.
“I know that I’m not going to be thrown into the rotation immediately. So, I’ve accepted that role and I’m coming in and getting better every day and learning from the vets and people that are going to be receiving heavy minutes. I have no problem sitting back and learning these first couple years and then building up from there,” Bronny James said.
But there are lots of skeptics around the edges of the Lakers' bubble, per ESPN's Baxter Holmes.
“The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “If they had any real idea of how far away Bronny is, they just would not have done this.”
“You're set up for failure,” one Eastern Conference scout who has evaluated Bronny for years said. “It's like, what's the expectation here?”
The Lakers' regular season begins at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, October 22 at 10:00 p.m. EST.
