“I think for him and all our younger players, all the moments are building blocks.” JJ Redick had some words of wisdom to share in the aftermath of the Warriors-Lakers preseason matchup. After all, the streak of disappointing performances, from his college days to the Summer League, seemed to have ended for Bronny James after he scored 17 points during the preseason finale. Though the Lakers lost by a 58-point margin, the fact that LeBron’s eldest finally found his footing probably came as a sigh of relief to many of his well-wishers. However, is that sole performance a sign that Bronny may finally be considered as a worthy competition amongst veterans and his own father?

Anthony Davis does not credit that one presentation solely, but also what he recently witnessed alongside the 17-point performance. During a presser from three weeks ago, the 31-year-old recalled a hilarious moment that took place during the Lakers’ practice session. Bronny ended up hitting a three over LeBron James himself, causing everyone to start talking smack in the 20-year-old’s favor.

Most likely fuelled by this, Bronny reportedly continued displaying prowess throughout the practice session causing Davis to surprisingly state, “So you can see, even though they (LeBron and Bronny) weren’t matched up, the competition is there. And that’s what we love to see.”

LeBron may have not appreciated the smack talk, but he did like the fact that his son may be coming on an equal footing as him. This caused him to highlight Davis’s clip on his own Instagram story with the caption, “Yeah he dotted my eye for sure! Wanted that get back ASAP! Ha.”

Despite having averaged only 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during his tenure at USC, Bronny was still able to come in as the 55 overall pick during the 2024 NBA Draft. There were some moments when he received his moment to shine during the Summer League, like when he made 12 and 13 points against the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. However, things seemed to be at a low point for the player during the preseason when he made 0, 0, 2, and 4 points during the first four games.

Moreoevr, this is not the first story that has come out of Bronny managing to be on the same court as his father and still find some level of success. Back in September, while making an appearance on the ‘Gojo and Golic’ podcast, LeBron James revealed details of one of the first practice sessions in which he and Bronny trained together as teammates.

There were occasions when the 20-year-old was able to get some advantage over his father. However, this might have mainly been due to the fact that LeBron got distracted during the session, as he himself revealed, “I had a couple of moments where I kind of just…. I lost focus, you know. And, I’m not used to losing focus when I’m out on the floor but, you know, a couple of times, I was just looking to the side and just watching him, and watching him prepare, and watching him go after it.”

Whether the same reason was why Bronny was able to get some advantage during the recent session, as Anthony Davis said, is hard to describe. No matter what, these instances help in providing hope that Bronny James may finally be reaching the level that a typical NBA player, or even a rookie, should possess.

Fortunately, he was able to end his preseason run at such a high note that it even earned him praise from Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who wrote on X “Laker Nation, I have to tell you Bronny James is going to be a really good basketball player!”

In light of Bronny delivering his all-time high points score, a couple of new eyes would be fixated on the young star to see how he would progress throughout the season. Anthony Davis would not be amongst them, however, since his interest in watching Bronny’s 2024-25 run has existed for quite some time.

Anthony Davis revealed feeling amazed upon watching both LeBron James and Bronny on the same team

Back in early October, prior to the Lakers’ 2024-25 preseason, Anthony Davis gave his own perspective on what it was like having Bronny with the Lakers. Having not only been LeBron James’ teammate for five years but also the second main leading scorer of the franchise, the Brow would be amongst those who knew the full extent of the All-Time Scorer’s wish to play alongside his son. Therefore, seeing them together in the practice sessions was a sight to behold for Davis as well.

“It’s still surreal that he’s on the same team as his dad. And I get to be part of it, witnessing every practice, every game, every moment they share, at least for his first year,” said Davis. “I can’t wait for them to make history when they officially step on the floor together. It’s been amazing to watch so far.”

The Lakers are set to have their season opener in less than 48 hours from now. Whether Bronny James can manage to display the same level of prowess as earlier and come out as the worthy ‘competition’, is a question that will only be answered in due course.