Bronny James is grateful for the faith shown in him by the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching staff after a career-high display in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lakers guard Bronny, the oldest son of LeBron James, scored 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting and added five assists, three rebounds and a block in his 30 minutes on the court.

The 20-year-old was the injury-ravaged Lakers' most effective offensive player in what was his most extensive NBA outing in terms of minutes.

Bronny has found his feet a year and a half on from suffering a cardiac arrest, which he credits to the support from those around him.

"Just all the coaches believing in me and continue to put that in my head that they believe in me and what I can do as a player," James said when asked about his upturn.

"I was given an opportunity tonight to go show them what I've been working on while I've been sitting on the bench in the G League getting reps, stuff like that.

"I'm just constantly putting in my head that they believe in me and that I can contribute."

Bronny stepped up in the absence of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron and Rui Hachimura, but it was not enough as the Lakers lost 118-89 to the Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

His average of 1.6 points per game and 26.3% shooting has now climbed to 2.3 and 26.9% respectively, after a potentially breakthrough night.

"I feel like it's all coming back," he said. "Just being out for that long, stuff that I had to go through, wind-wise and lung-wise.

"I think I've been getting more comfortable as I get the reps under me and get the games under me and practices and learning from the bench and stuff like that. And I feel like it's good for me."

Bronny has often been an easy target for criticism, which Lakers coach J.J. Redick believes is a testament to the youngster's ability to deliver under such pressure.

"I'm not surprised by tonight," Redick said. "I think his confidence is growing. I think the next step is just becoming an elite-conditioned athlete.

"Because when he does that, with his physical tools and his burst and his handle, we think he's going to be an above-average to really good NBA shooter. He's going to have a chance to really make an impact.

"I've just been impressed with the person that he is. To deal with, frankly, bull****, because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family.

"The way LeBron and Savannah have raised him was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer.

"He was certainly going to be an NBA player, and I still believe that he'll be an NBA player."