NBA
Lakers put an end to Bronny James’ Summer League, fans call for him to play
After two solid games for the Lakers, fans are not happy that he’s not set to feature again.
The Los Angeles Lakers finished their summer leagues campaign in the California Classic (San Francisco) and NBA 2K25 Summer League (Las Vegas). In their final game, the side managed a 107-81 victory over the Chicago Bulls with the absences of Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Maxwell Lewis due to the sheer volume of games they had seen during the past few days.
The fans present in the stands were disappointed with the absence of James Jr. and during some parts of the game they could be heard singing “We want Bronny!”, a huge change on the early perception of the star.
Bronny managed to turn the tide after poor early performances
His absence ended his time in the summer leagues, where he made his debut on Saturday, July 6, in a game against the Sacramento Kings (a disappointing performance which saw him get just four points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal).
The eldest son of LeBron James generated doubts due to his level shown in the first games when he missed his first 15 three-pointers.
“He had two pretty good games last two. I think it’s just going to help him going into the summer so we can work on different things with him. Just that confidence and knowing he can play at this level. It’s still going to take a lot of time and a lot of reps”, Lakers Summer League coach Dane Johnson said.
Bronny, in the last two games, managed to catapult his performances and began to really show up: in the clash against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and got 2 blocks, helping to achieve the 93-89 victory of the Lakers.
Then, in the 87-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Bronny scored 12 points in 23 minutes of play; in total in the Las Vegas summer league, he averaged 8.8 points per game, 3.5 RPG and 1.0 APG.
“I think right now he’s more of a (shooting guard), but I think he could be a combo-ish,” Johnson said. “He picks up stuff really well. We throw stuff at him — plays, coverages, defensively. He kind of picks it up really quick, so I think he could potentially be (a point guard). Maybe we’ll work on that in the summer, but I think right now being that secondary playmaker is kind of where he’s at right now.”