Bronny James has been ruled out for the LA Lakers' final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Oct. 17. The young NBA player will join his father, who is out for at least four weeks with sciatica, on the team's injury report.According to Bleacher Report, Bronny was sidelined due to an ankle sprain. So far, the Lakers have played four preseason games, and Bronny has played all of those four games. Along with LeBron James, he will also join rookie Adou Thiero on the sideline. Although he is out for the preseason finale, unlike his father/teammate LeBron James, Bronny James is expected to join the Lakers roster in the season-opener against the Golden State Warriors. Lakers coach JJ Redick has previously heaped praise on Bronny before the season started. After a horrible 1-12 shooting against the Phoenix Suns, Redick said that Bronny was more "comfortable and confident." The Lakers coach added that the young star had become "a different player" after the offseason. However, Redick also added that he wanted his young guard to be better in 5-on-5 games. It remains to be seen how Redick uses Bronny James going into the regular season.Last season, Bronny averaged 2.3 points on 31.3% shooting from the field in 6.7 minutes. He played two postseason games but failed to score a point. Bronny James stats in 2025-26 preseasonBronny James has a lot to work on in his game as he continues to struggle in finding his footing in the league. After a below-average rookie season, James showed flashes of being a good role player during the Summer League this year. He shot 44.3% from the field, including 38.0% from the 3-point line.In the 2025-26 preseason outing, Bronny has played 4 games and has averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.5 steals per game. However, he has struggled to find his efficiency so far. In the Lakers' first preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, he shot just 8.3% from the field. In the remaining 3 games, he has shot under 40%. His best game in 4 games came against the Golden State Warriors, where he scored 7 points on 50% shooting. So far into the season, the young Lakers star has shown more growth compared to his rookie season. He is not only taking shots more freely, but also has been able to read plays much better.