Bronny James’ G League debut on Saturday with the South Bay Lakers bore a striking resemblance to his early tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers as he sought to define his role. Despite the uncertainty, James managed to contribute six points in the South Bay Lakers’ 110-96 victory over the Salt Lake City Stars.
“I haven’t been with the team as much as I can to figure out what my role is on that team. So I’m just going out and playing my game and just hooping,” James expressed.
James, the 20-year-old son of NBA superstar LeBron James, finished the game with a performance marked by perseverance. He went 2 of 9 from the field, missing all four of his 3-point attempts. In addition to his six points, the 6-foot-3 guard logged three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.
The youngster joined the South Bay Lakers’ roster on Thursday, shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a five-game road trip. His appearance on Saturday was the most time he had spent on the court since the Lakers’ preseason finale against Golden State on October 18, where he played 35 minutes and racked up 15 points.
South Bay coach Zach Guthrie praised Bronny’s performance, noting, “I think he did a great job dictating on the ball. He got the first bucket of the game … He played great, he played unselfishly, he played within the flow of the game. And I thought, like all our guards, we defended at a high level.”
Courtside spectators included LeBron James, his wife Savannah, their 10-year-old daughter Zuri, and Bronny’s grandmother Gloria James. Also present were Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
LeBron, alongside Lakers coach J.J. Redick, has consistently emphasized that Bronny will spend significant time in the G League this season to hone his skills. Bronny has so far appeared in five games for the Lakers, amassing four points in 14 minutes of play and featuring in the final moments of the Lakers’ 116-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
On October 22, LeBron and Bronny made history as the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA during the Lakers’ season-opener win over Minnesota.
Bronny’s debut showed promise right from the start. Scoring on his first possession with a pull-up jumper 43 seconds into the game, Bronny later added a floater in the second quarter and a free throw in the fourth. The G League’s new experimental free-throw rule this season allows a single foul shot to count for two or three points for any non-final two-minute fouls that would ordinarily require multiple free throws.
His play-making skills were on display when he executed a clever lob to Kylor Kelley for an alley-oop late in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Bronny partially blocked Isaiah Wong’s layup attempt, leading to a successful fast-break 3-pointer by teammate Maxwell Lewis that extended the Lakers’ lead to 40-28.
Bronny’s inaugural game drew a full house to the Lakers’ training facility, the UCLA Health Training Center, which holds an audience of 676. Reflecting on his experience, Bronny said, “It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game. Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good.”
Drafted 55th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft after averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25 games for Southern California last season, Bronny embraces the buzz surrounding his move to the G League. “It’s just an amazing experience for me to go out and play my game and get some minutes under me. I’m just excited for it.”
Salt Lake City coach Steve Wojciechowski acknowledged the unique atmosphere following the game. “I mean, this doesn’t normally happen after a G League game. I’m like, on my second slice of pizza by now,” he remarked during a postgame interview. “It’s exciting for the G League and it brings eyeballs to our league. And we have one of the best leagues in the world. Maybe the third best league in the world after the NBA and EuroLeague.”
Bronny’s narrative is generating significant attention, not just for South Bay but for the G League at large. Wojciechowski concluded, “His story is bringing attention not just to South Bay, but the league in general and for the guys who play in the league. And so the more eyeballs on those stories, even if it’s generated by this exceptional story, is great for the league.”
