Well, Bronny James finally made his preseason debut for the Lakers. And fans were left a bit underwhelmed by his performance on the offensive end. Seemingly out of luck, the rookie was struggling to get the ball through the net. And it wasn’t until the final quarter that he got his first and only two points of the game. But despite his low-scoring performance, JJ Redick was filled with pride after Bronny’s debut as the rookie impressed the head coach with his promising defense, which even got him on the same list as Heat legend Dwyane Wade.

Looking back on Bronny’s performance and his overall development, Redick said, “He’s had some really good days in August and September. He has had really really good days this week. We’re really happy with his progress.” Moreover, the head coach revealed his bold expectations from LBJ’s son, “The kid, he can do some things defensively at his size that are really unique and can I think turn into a really disruptive defender.”

While Bronny scored only two points tonight, he was able to get three blocks on his opponents. Surprisingly enough, the only guard ever to block more shots than him in his preseason debut was Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, who had four blocks against the Sixers in 2003. And that is a huge achievement for the Lakers rookie to join his dad’s legendary former teammate.

Moreover, Redick has had the vision of Bronny being a disruptive defender for quite some time. Even during the Summer League, he compared the rookie to Lu Dort, “I think Lu Dort just singlehandedly broke up the eighth possession of the game. Like his impact, you can’t get into your offense sometimes, the shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. He literally blows up entire plays because of that pressure and I really believe this, Bronny eventually will be that guy.” Well, that is a bold prediction considering Dort is one of the most versatile defensive guards in the game. But there is one issue that Bronny still needs to resolve.

JJ Redick claims Bronny James is still “Figuring out” his offensive identity amid 2-point debut

While Redick was impressed by Bronny’s effort on defense, he did acknowledge the rookie’s glaring weakness, “On the offensive end, he is still kind of figuring out who he is and that’s our job as a player development program just to build him up.” Sure enough, Bronny has never been an elite offensive player as it was evident from his 4.8 points average in college. And even during the Summer League, it took him a few games before he finally got going.

Yes, there is a lot Bronny needs to work on before he can be a good all-around player. However, JJ claimed that he is very easy to coach and comes to work with great energy. Sure enough, the coach has complete faith in the kid and is hoping for his bright future, “I like what I saw from Bronny… I like being around him and I’m rooting for him.” Do you think Bronny will find his offensive identity while also turning into an elite defender as Redick predicts?