"Stephen A. Smith is shaking" - NBA fans erupt over Bronny James potentially getting meaningful minutes amid Lakers' injury woes

Bronny James will reportedly feature in the LA Lakers lineup for their game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. The Lakers haven't been hitting their stride since LeBron James was taken out of the picture.

While Luka Doncic is doing his best to put LA on his back, his efforts have fallen short, which saw the Purple and Gold drop back down to fourth place after a three-game losing streak.

Going up against the Nuggets on Friday, Lakers head coach JJ Redick reportedly wants to test the water with Bronny James. With his father and Rui Hachimura out of the rotation, Bronny might get more minutes.

Fans on social media expressed their thoughts on the young James being called up to the main roster to face the Nuggets. Here's what some said on X, formerly Twitter:

"STEPHEN A IS SHAKING."

"Lakers replaced LeBron James with LeBron James."

Here are other reactions on X:

"What if he carries them 20+ points and a W," one asked.

"Damn they tryna end his career throwing him in there. And LeBron gonna have to watch that from the couch lmao," one said.

"Show up and show out, Bronny. The stage is set—time to make your mark. ✨🔥🏀," one tweeted.

"Bronny stepping up for Lakers vs Nugs," another said.

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Bronny James has opportunity to prove Stephen A. Smith wrong

Bronny James' father, LeBron James, has an ongoing beef with sports analyst Stephen A. Smith. This is because Smith criticized Bronny's NBA career. The analyst pointed out that young James is only in the league because his father is pulling the strings with the Lakers.

LeBron didn't take it too kindly and confronted Stephen after the LA Lakers' game against the New York Knicks on March 6. The young James is only averaging 4.2 points per game and shooting 25.8% from the field in 18 NBA games.

However, now that the Lakers have called Bronny James' number to be present in the lineup in their game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, that might be the perfect time for him to prove that he belongs in the league.