Lakers head coach JJ Redick used his postgame press conference in Indianapolis to deliver one of his clearest public endorsements yet of Bronny James, telling reporters the second-year guard has quietly become a trusted piece of his rotation.
Speaking after the Lakers closed out a demanding road trip against one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA, Redick was asked directly about Bronny's impact.
"He's gotten significantly better," Redick said. "Our staff has a lot of confidence in him. Felt like this was a game we really needed him. It was a game that, you know, his athleticism, his defense — he had two really really good defensive possessions, individual defense in the first half."
Redick was blunt about what mattered most and what did not. Bronny missed his three-point attempt, but Redick refused to let the final stat line define the night.
"I think the biggest thing with him is he's got a lot of confidence right now," Redick said. "He didn't make his three tonight, but he's got a lot of confidence."
The broader context of the win was just as revealing. Redick singled out Indiana — and, by extension, Miami from earlier on the trip — as some of the most uncomfortable environments any visiting team can face.
"Really good trip for us," Redick said. "There's a couple of games that you sort of look at — the Miami game and this game — where we get in late in Miami and it's like that's probably one of three or four teams that would be the worst-case scenario, just in terms of how fast they play and how they make you guard on every possession. And then to end the trip, it's sort of the same situation with how Indiana plays. They just play with so much pace."
Also making headlines was big man Jaxson Hayes, who posted his first double-double of the season. LeBron James, asked about Hayes's impact, kept it short but pointed.
"I mean, he's a good player," LeBron said. "Obviously a lane threat. Plays hard, so it's fun. It's good to see him out there having fun as well."
The Bronny story, however, is the one that carries the most weight beyond the box score. The younger James spent large chunks of his rookie year in and out of the G League, and questions lingered all summer about whether his NBA role would ever be more than symbolic. Redick, a first-year head coach himself, was one of the voices who argued most strongly that Bronny's development curve would accelerate once his confidence caught up with his athleticism.
The Indiana performance suggested exactly that. The two first-half defensive possessions Redick referenced — one on a pick-and-roll switch, one isolated against a wing — drew audible reactions from the Lakers bench, and his teammates have been vocal about his growing comfort level.
With the Lakers locked in the middle of a franchise-altering surge, rotation players who can guard, run the floor, and play without the ball are suddenly invaluable. Redick's public vote of confidence, delivered unprompted, leaves little doubt that Bronny has a real home in the rotation for the playoff push — regardless of whether the jumper falls every night.
"He's got a lot of confidence right now," Redick repeated. That, more than any numbers, is the sentence that matters for Bronny James.
---
*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/jj-redick-bronny-james-development-confidence-lakers-pacers-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
