Bronny James made his debut with his other team Saturday, preparing for the season opener for the G League’s South Bay Lakers. in front of a packed room.
Some of those fans included his father LeBron, the rest of their family and teammate Anthony Davis.
As for James’ performance against the Salt Lake City Stars, it was a quiet night. The second-round pick finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting (0-of-4 from 3-point range) with four assists, three rebounds and five turnovers. He was minus one in a 110-96 victory at South Bay.
South Bay’s most productive players were undrafted free agents Quincy Olivari with 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Maxwell Lewis with 27 points.
It was the first of many games James would play for South Bay while moving from the NBA to the G League. It was reported earlier this week that his plan was for him to essentially be an at-home player for South Bay, playing games for the team when they are at the UCLA Health Training Facility and joining the Lakers from Los Angeles when the other team is on the road.
It’s about the happiest gig a G League player can get, which isn’t surprising considering no G League player has the kind of clout behind him that James. The Lakers have made it clear they expect James’ development to be a long-term project, and most of the minutes needed for that effort will happen in the South Bay.
