Bronny James was among the Los Angeles Lakers reserves who let a 15-point lead shrink to five in about 40 seconds on Sunday night, before the starters returned to close out a 131-125 win over the Toronto Raptors.
That late stretch has some NBA fans asking whether the Lakers guard belongs on the roster at all.
James checked in for Luka Dončić with 2:28 to go. Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, and Matisse Thybulle went to the bench 45 seconds later with the Lakers up 123-109, which left James on the floor with Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Cameron Carr, a rookie making his NBA debut.
Grimes split two free throws for a 124-109 lead with 1:24 left. Jamison Battle answered with a 3-pointer, Jaden Bradley picked off a Grimes pass to set up another Battle 3 from 28 feet, and James turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds. Battle's floater on the following trip gave him eight straight points in less than 18 seconds.
Hardy made one of two free throws, and Bradley scored a layup while being fouled with 43.7 seconds left. After Bradley completed the three-point play to cut the lead to 125-120, Redick sent Dončić, Reaves, Kessler, and Thybulle back in.
Lakers coach JJ Redick, who made the substitutions, said afterward: "We just didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball in that situation. So I won't make that mistake again. I'll leave the guys in. You gotta play to the final buzzer, and if guys are not ready to play, then I just won't put them in."
James finished with 0 points, 1 turnover, and a minus-11 in two minutes, while Hardy and Carr were each a minus-9 in one minute.
Some fans called out James after the game. "Bronny has no business being on an NBA court. LeBron is gone, put an end to the circus show already," one fan wrote .
James' father, LeBron James, left the Lakers for the Philadelphia 76ers over the offseason. The younger James stayed with the Lakers since he was under contract, and he is now in his third NBA season.
Another fan made the same argument now that the elder James is in Philadelphia, writing , "No clue why they keep this kid. The jig is up. They owe LeBron nothing."
A third fan called for a roster move and put Hardy in the same category: "Hardy and Bronny should be waived immediately after that [expletive]."
A fourth fan pointed to his last name, writing , "Bronny would be working at McDonald's if his last name wasn't James."
One fan focused on the plus-minus, writing , "Bronny James -11 in one minute of play dog I'm screaming." (The box score credits James with two minutes, but still).
One fan put Bronny's situation on his father's choices instead: "His dad deprived him of the opportunity to enjoy college and develop just to ditch him after the photo ops."
Another fan saw a problem bigger than one player.
"The Lakers have no bench," they wrote.
The reserves were not the only ones who had trouble holding the lead. Toronto outscored Los Angeles 43-27 in the fourth quarter, cutting a 104-82 lead after three quarters to 109-100 with 6:58 left. Over the full game, the Lakers' 24 turnovers led to 30 points for the Raptors.
James' $2.3 million contract with the Lakers is fully guaranteed for the 2026-27 season, and then he has a $2,486,995 team option for next year.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
