Bronny makes G League debut, 'excited' to play

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Ever since Bronny James was selected No. 55 by the Los Angeles Lakers in June’s NBA draft, the organization had planned for Saturday’s start to the South Bay Lakers’ season.

While South Bay’s 110-96 win over the Salt Lake City Stars at the franchise’s practice facility couldn’t match the aura of NBA opening night at Crypto.com Arena, the time the 20-year-old guard spends getting reps in the G League will arguably be more crucial to his development.

It took James just 43 seconds to score his first G League points, canning a 17-foot jumper along the baseline.

“I was just getting a bucket,” James said after the game. “It got to me, and I just … yeah. I didn’t miss.”

He finished with 6 points on 2-for-9 shooting (0-for-4 from 3), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 5 turnovers in 31 minutes, loosely mirroring his production as a freshman at USC (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game) and during the Lakers’ preseason (4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists per game).

Lakers two-way guard Quincy Olivari, who led South Bay with 28 points and assisted on James’ first basket, credited the rookie’s performance, despite the relatively pedestrian statistical line.

“I was just happy to see him get out there and show the world that he can play,” Olivari said. “I think I’m a big advocate on pushing that he’s a great basketball player and that the criticism he gets is unfair.”

South Bay coach Zach Guthrie, hired in the offseason to replace Dane Johnson, pointed to James’ defense as a bright spot.

“I think he did a great job dictating on the ball,” Guthrie said. “He played great, he played unselfishly, he played within the flow of the game. And I thought, like all our guards, we defended at a high level. We talked about dictating. They weren’t comfortable in their offense.”

The outsize attention that being the son of LeBron James has generated for the rookie thus far — “We want Bronny!” chants are already a nightly occurrence during Lakers road games this season — followed him to South Bay. His gold No. 9 Lakers uniform with “James Jr.” on the back was the only jersey on sale at the team shop. And when the South Bay starters were introduced by the public address announcer, James was saved for last — a distinction normally reserved for a star.

Lakers coach JJ Redick, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and Lakers teammates Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell all showed up in courtside seats, joining James’ parents, LeBron and Savannah, and his younger sister, Zhuri.

“It’s one of the great stories in basketball,” Salt Lake coach Steve Wojciechowski said of Bronny James. “When you see him out there, it’s exciting. 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. And it’s really the future stars of the game. His story is bringing attention not just to South Bay but the league in general and for the guys who play in the league.”

South Bay sold out the game — around 700 tickets — after just five sellouts in 24 home games last season.

“I’ve seen all the buzz from me going to the G,” James said. “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.”

James will be with the Lakers on Sunday for their game against the visiting Toronto Raptors.

South Bay’s next game is Friday on the road against the Santa Cruz Warriors. They play again in El Segundo next Sunday against the Stockton Kings.

Joey Buss, South Bay’s president and CEO, said James’ schedule going forward — shuffling between the Lakers and the G League — is not set in stone.

“That’s going to be fluid,” Buss told ESPN. “We’re going to do what’s best for his development. There’s going to be a lot of things that we do for all the assignment players, and decisions are made based off where they are, based off the injury status, based off how many bodies they need for practice. There’s a lot of variables. So nothing unique for Bronny. He’s just kind of in that system.”