Bronny trusts his dad's leadership.
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the playoffs without two of their top three scorers, and the mood around El Segundo has shifted from swagger to pure survival mode.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both shelved with soft tissue injuries, leaving a short-handed group to face the Houston Rockets in Game 1 Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
With that backdrop, reporters pulled Bronny James aside after Thursday's practice and asked how this banged-up group plans to make it work.
His answer pointed right at the man wearing 23.
"He's won series, won Finals. I think we just need to have our mind open and ears open and listen to whatever he says because he knows the most," Bronny said of his father. "He's only saying that because he wants to win … We just got to listen to him."
A New Role in a Stripped-Down Rotation
With Doncic and Reaves sidelined indefinitely, the backcourt rotation has thinned out in a hurry, and Bronny has quietly worked his way into the conversation.
He appeared in 42 games this season, mostly in small doses, but the past couple of weeks have looked different.
Over his last six games he averaged 7.2 points in 16.9 minutes a night, and he knocked down six of his last ten threes across three outings.
JJ Redick has already said the Lakers will need all hands on deck, and it sounds like Bronny is one of those hands.
His season averages sit at 2.9 points, 0.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 40.9 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three, but those numbers don't really capture the last month of work.
Redick has praised his improvement on both ends, specifically his perimeter defense and his comfort guarding off the ball.
The confidence shift has been the real story, and teammates have pointed to that growth as one of the few bright spots about playing short.
Leaning on 22 Years of Playoff Scars
That's where the father in the locker room matters most.
LeBron is averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds this season at age 41, and his resume in the postseason is unlike anyone else's in league history, with four rings, four Finals MVPs and a record 292 playoff appearances.
The Lakers finished 53-29 and locked up the four seed, but without Doncic pouring in 33 a night and Reaves creating off the bounce, this group becomes whatever LeBron can will it to be.
LeBron has spoken all season about what sharing the floor with his son has meant, and now that bond might get tested in real playoff minutes.
Game 1 tips off Saturday, and if the Lakers plan to stretch this series at all, they'll need everyone in that locker room pointed the same direction.