EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Bronny James‘ G League debut in many ways mirrored his first couple months with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He’s trying to find his role.
James started and scored six points on Saturday as the South Bay Lakers defeated the Salt Lake City Stars 110-96.
“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 said.
James — the 20-year-old son of LeBron James — was 2 of 9 from the field, including 0 of 4 on 3-pointers. The 6-foot-3 guard also had three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
He was added to South Bay’s roster on Thursday, after the Lakers completed a five-game road trip.
Saturday marked the most action Bronny has had in a game since the Lakers’ preseason finale against Golden State on Oct. 18, when he played 35 minutes and scored 15 points.
“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,” South Bay coach Zach Guthrie said. “And I thought, like all our guards, we defended at a high level.”
LeBron watched the game from courtside seats on the opposite side of the main stands with his wife, Savannah, and their 10-year-old daughter, Zuri. Gloria James, Bronny’s grandmother, also was in attendance, along with Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
LeBron and Lakers coach J.J. Redick have said repeatedly Bronny will spend ample time this season in the G League as he works on his game.
Bronny has played in five games for the Lakers, scoring four points in 14 combined minutes of action. He was in for the final 1:28 of the Lakers 116-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night.
LeBron and Bronny made NBA history on Oct. 22 when they became the first father and son to play together during the Lakers’ season-opening win over Minnesota.
Saturday got off to a good start for Bronny when he scored on his initial possession, hitting a pull-up jumper 43 seconds into the game.
“I was just getting a bucket. It got to me and I just … yeah. I didn’t miss,” he said.
Bronny’s other basket was a floater in the lane during the second quarter. He also had a free throw in the fourth quarter. The G-League has an experimental free-throw rule this season where one foul shot could be worth two or three points for any foul not during the last two minutes that would typically result in two or three free throws being shot.
Bronny showed off his passing ability late in the first quarter with a nifty lob to Kylor Kelley for an alley-oop.
Midway through the second quarter, Bronny partially blocked Isaiah Wong’s layup before Quincy Olivari grabbed the rebound. Maxwell Lewis finished with a 3-pointer on the other end of the court to put the Lakers up 40-28.
Bronny’s debut drew an overflow crowd to the Lakers training complex, where South Bay plays its games. The capacity of the UCLA Health Training Center is 676.
“It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game. Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good,” said Bronny, who was the 55th overall pick in the 2024 draft in June after averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25 games for Southern California last season. “I’ve seen all the buzz from me going to the G. 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 admitted it was a different atmosphere compared to other G League road games.
“I mean, this doesn’t normally happen after a G League game. I’m like, on my second slice of pizza by now,” he said about doing 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.
“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.”
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