Is Bronny James playing tonight against Minnesota Timberwolves? Exploring Lakers rookie's status for preseason game (Oct 4)

After several months without NBA basketball, the LA Lakers and rookie guard Bronny James are set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their preseason opener on Friday night. The Purple and Gold come from another playoff elimination at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the 2024 NBA playoffs and have renewed hopes for this campaign.

First-year coach JJ Redick has already settled on his starting lineup, but the rest of the rotation remains a question mark, including Bronny's participation in tonight's game. The USC product could watch some minutes today, but it will all depend on if Redick decides to include him in one of his rotations, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reports.

The Lakers enter the preseason with 21 players on the roster, which could delay Bronny James' preseason debut. His father, LeBron, and Anthony Davis will play, but Redick revealed he's not sure about how many minutes they'd be on the court.

"Still talking through it," Redick said Thursday, per ESPN. "They're going to play this weekend. But we're still talking through what minutes and rotations look like for everybody."

LeBron and Bronny James are set to make history as the first father-son duo to play in the league at the same time, but that date remains unclear as Bronny is reportedly expected to spend some time in the G League, getting more reps.

His final two Summer League games brought hope to the organization. He finished on an upward trajectory after a terrible start, scoring 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers in eight attempts.

Lakers divisional rival could've drafted Bronny James

The Lakers landed Bronny James to pair him up with his father, but the young guard was close to landing on a different team in the 2024 NBA draft. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Golden State Warriors considered drafting Bronny in a move to lure his father away from Crypto.com Arena, but they decided to respect James' wish to play in Los Angeles with his firstborn.

"The Warriors liked Bronny's skill set and had him on their draft board, sources said," Shelburne said. "Selecting him ahead of the Lakers, who held the 55th pick, would've been a shrewd move -- perhaps even to entice James to sign there as a free agent. But ultimately, sources said, the Warriors opted to respect the wishes James had made clear."

The Lakers also added Dalton Knecht at No. 17 in this year's draft, setting themselves for the future. If Bronny develops his game, he'll have a solid career in the league.