Bronny James made his NBA preseason debut on Friday night, but his father, LeBron James, was not on the court with him when the Lakers played against Minnesota in the first of two-weekend games in the Coachella Valley.
Lakers coach JJ Redick decided to rest LeBron after three tough days of training camp, but the 39-year-old, who is the top scorer in NBA history, is expected to play against Phoenix on Sunday, which is also Bronny’s 20th birthday.
In the Lakers’ 124-107 loss to the Timberwolves, Bronny scored two points. He missed his first five shots before making a layup with 56.9 seconds left in the game.
The 6-foot-2 guard also blocked three shots, grabbed one rebound, and made one assist while playing the first half of the second quarter and most of the fourth quarter, totaling 16 minutes on the court.
“I liked what I saw from Bronny,” Redick said. “Truthfully, he’s so easy to coach, and he’s got great soul and a great energy about him. I like being around him. I’m rooting for him. He’s a good player that we’re happy to have in our program.”
Bronny James did not talk to reporters after his first game.
Before they become the first father and son to play in the same NBA game, Bronny knows he has a lot to work on. He got his first chance to wear the Lakers’ colors when he entered the game at the start of the second quarter at Acrisure Arena outside Palm Springs.
While playing with starting Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, Bronny got caught on a screen during his first defensive play, which allowed Rob Dillingham to score an open 3-pointer. Then, Bronny’s pass was intercepted by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but Bronny quickly recovered and blocked his layup attempt.
“He can do some things defensively at his size that are really unique, and he can, I think, turn into a really disruptive defender, and that manifested itself,” Redick said. “On the offensive end, he’s still kind of figuring out who he is, and that’s our job as a player development program to build him up.”
In his first six minutes on the court, Bronny missed all three of his shots, including a 3-pointer. He did manage to assist Rui Hachimura by passing to him for a 3-pointer from the corner during a fast break.
Bronny came back for the start of the fourth quarter, where he missed a jumper and had a layup attempt blocked. In the last minute, he received a pass from fellow rookie Dalton Knecht and made a layup over a defender for his first points.
Redick mentioned that Bronny earned his playing time in the Lakers’ preseason opener after three strong practices this week.
During the game, LeBron seemed to keep a respectful distance from Bronny, allowing him to focus. However, LeBron talked with Bronny during a timeout in the second quarter, explaining something with hand gestures while Bronny nodded.
Bronny James was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick and played in the summer league in Las Vegas. He is expected to participate in the preseason with the Lakers before spending much of the regular season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers.
“Of course there’s nerves,” Bronny said after the Lakers’ pregame shootaround. “But I’m just excited to go out there and learn from the people playing in front of me, and if I get a chance to showcase what I can do, I’m going to do that.”
As is usual for players who are inactive, LeBron mostly stayed away from the Lakers’ huddles. He stood on the sidelines during timeouts with Anthony Davis, who also did not play in the preseason opener. Both superstars have been participating in training camp in El Segundo.
“We felt like, given everything they had this summer, and their level of participation over the past three days, it made the most sense for them to get an off day today,” Redick said. “We told them at shootaround to just stay off their feet.”
Redick mentioned on Thursday that both LeBron James and Davis will play in at least one game this weekend. James and Davis are sitting out the first of the Lakers’ six preseason games as they get back into playing after a busy summer.
Both LeBron and Davis were on the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and they walked to midcourt right before the game to greet Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, their Olympic teammate.
The crowd on Friday didn’t seem let down as they filled the 22-month-old arena, which is home to the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Hundreds of fans in gold Lakers jerseys, representing everyone from James to George Mikan, rushed into the building and down the stairs in the lower section to get a close look at the pregame warmups.
“The beautiful thing about the Lakers is that we have fans all over the world,” Redick said. “The desert over here is an extension, I think in some ways, of our fan base in LA. It’s a great opportunity for our group to play in front of these fans tonight.”
