Bronny James’ debut in the G League was similar to his first few months with the Los Angeles Lakers — he’s still figuring out his role.
On Saturday, James started and scored six points as the South Bay Lakers won 110-96 against 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 said.
The 20-year-old, son of LeBron James, shot 2-for-9 from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts. The 6-foot-3 guard also grabbed three rebounds, dished out four assists, had two steals, and blocked one shot.
James was added to South Bay’s roster on Thursday, after the Lakers completed a five-game road trip. Saturday was the most game action Bronny had since the Lakers’ preseason finale against Golden State on October 18, where 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 James was in attendance, sitting courtside with his wife, Savannah, and their 10-year-old daughter Zuri. Bronny’s grandmother, Gloria James, was also there, along with Lakers stars Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell, and general manager Rob Pelinka.
Both LeBron and Lakers coach J.J. Redick have said that Bronny will spend a lot of time in the G League this season to develop his game.
Bronny has played in five games for the Lakers, scoring four points in a total of 14 minutes. He also played the final 1:28 of the Lakers’ 116-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
On October 22, LeBron and Bronny made history when they became the first father and son to play together in an NBA game during the Lakers’ season opener against Minnesota.
Bronny’s G League debut started off well when he scored on his first possession with a pull-up jumper just 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.
His second basket came on a floater in the lane during the second quarter. He also made one free throw in the fourth quarter. The G League is testing a new rule this season where certain fouls could result in one free throw worth two or three points instead of two or three individual free throws, except in the last two minutes of the game.
Bronny showed off his passing skills late in the first quarter with a nice lob to Kylor Kelley for an alley-oop dunk. In the second quarter, he partially blocked a layup from Isaiah Wong, and Quincy Olivari grabbed the rebound before Maxwell Lewis hit a three-pointer on the other end, giving the Lakers a 40-28 lead.
Bronny’s debut drew a large crowd to the South Bay Lakers’ home arena, the UCLA Health Training Center, which has a capacity of 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 picked 55th overall in the 2024 draft after averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25 games for USC 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 acknowledged that the atmosphere was different from typical 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, referring to doing the 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.”
