Charles Barkley’s assessment of Bronny James’ development has been vindicated by his G League performances.

After being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and becoming the first father-son duo in NBA history when he made his debut alongside his famous dad LeBron, Bronny has played only a handful of games. The Lakers’ investment in the rookie has seen them set records on the court and generate over $50million in jersey sales.

But Bronny has found minutes hard to come by for the Lakers, with LA forced to make a decision to feature him in the G League rather than continue to warm the bench. It’s a call that has reaped rewards with Bronny enjoying a 30-point game against the Valley Suns among other standout performances.

Back in November, Barkley slammed the Lakers’ handling of Bronny’s early NBA career, insisting that basketball players only improve by playing and urging the Lakers to find minutes for Bronny in the G League.

“They’ve handled it awful,” Barkley said on The Bettor Angle podcast. “I thought it was great, a little ceremony his first game. But the kid is not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G League so he can play basketball. He’s not going to get better sitting on the bench.

“And also, this thing where he’s only gonna play home games. It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him.”

Bronny and LeBron James

Bronny has found form in the G League after breaking NBA record with his dad LeBron ( 

Image:

Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Barkley also went on to claim that the Lakers’ handling of Bronny reflected poorly on LeBron. “They have just handled this thing very bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I really like everything LeBron has done. But it’s a bad look for him, in my opinion,” he added.

Bronny’s resurgence since his early-season struggles has vindicated Barkley’s point, with the 20-year-old excelling through regular playing time. Although the G League is far from the glitz of the NBA spotlight and sharing the court with his dad, it’s proving a great learning ground for the former USC starlet.

Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters in October that the plan for Bronny was always to split his time between the NBA and the G League throughout the campaign. “The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one,” Redick previously said. “(Lakers general manager) Rob (Pelinka) and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that.”

South Bay Lakers president Joey Buss has also acknowledged the importance of Bronny’s development path between his G League team and the NBA. He stated South Bay would remain “fluid” with Bronny’s G League schedule to prioritize his growth.