Bronny James will split time between the Lakers and the G League following the team's 5-game road trip

Bronny James is expected to remain loyal to the Los Angeles Lakers during their upcoming five-game road trip. After that, however, the rookie will begin splitting time between the Lakers' active roster and the team's G League affiliate, ESPN's Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin report.

James played three minutes in the Lakers' season opener on Tuesday and gave fans and media what they wanted to see by taking the floor with his father, LeBron James. He shot 0 of 2, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and grabbed one rebound.

The Lakers have two more home games – Friday against the Phoenix Suns and Saturday against the Sacramento Kings – before beginning their road trip in Phoenix on Monday. The five-game stretch from October 28th to November 6th includes a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which should be a special moment for the James family.

LeBron James played a total of 11 seasons with his hometown Cavaliers in two separate stints. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. With the Cavs, LeBron won the Rookie of the Year award, two NBA MVP awards and the 2015-16 NBA Championship. Bronny was born in Cleveland in 2004, shortly before LeBron's second season.

After being selected in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the Lakers. Still, his agent, Rich Paul, negotiated a standard contract — not the two-way contract under which prospects typically play between the NBA and the G League.

However, according to ESPN, there was always consensus that playing in the G League with the team's South Bay affiliate would be part of his development. LeBron acknowledged the likelihood when speaking to reporters on media day, emphasizing that the Lakers and South Bay are part of the same team.

“His job is to work hard and keep getting better, just like the rest of us,” LeBron said, via ESPN. “And we want to hold him accountable, and he will hold us accountable. And when we all do that, we all get better because we are all a team. We are a reflection of the South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us.”