Bronny James made his NBA G League debut Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at UCLA Health Training Center. His father, LeBron James, was in attendance, as well as fellow Lakers teammates Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell. Lakers coach JJ Redick also watched from the sidelines as James, who is expected to split time between the Lakers and the G League affiliate, finished the night with six points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the South Bay Lakers’ 110-96 win over the Salt Lake City Stars.
In addition to Bronny’s father and Laker teammates, his sister Zhuri, mother Savannah and grandmother Gloria also took in Saturday night’s action.
Bronny’s first G League bucket came off a mid-range jumper in the first quarter to open up the scoring for South Bay.
He also had a slick one-handed lob to Kylor Kelley for an easy dunk.
It was a modest statline for Bronny, who despite going 2 of 9 from the floor was effective on the defensive side of the ball. His active hands came up with deflections and steals, but it was a rough night on offense from the second-round pick, who also shot 0 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with five turnovers.
While Bronny struggled, undrafted guard Quincy Olivari had a huge night, putting up 28 points and 10 rebounds, while 2023 second-round pick Maxwell Lewis added 27 points.
Bronny may not have been the star of the show, but the reps he’s getting down in the G League are valuable for his development. Looking ahead for Bronny, he could be doing a lot of back-and-forth between the Lakers and the G League over at least the next week. South Bay’s next game isn’t until Nov. 15, but the Lakers play on Sunday against the Raptors, followed by a game on Wednesday against the Grizzlies. Bronny could, in theory, be called up for those two games, and then head back to the G League for Friday’s game. We’ll have to see if that happens over the next week, but it’s clear the Lakers want to ensure he’s getting as many opportunities as possible at both levels.