When is Bronny James’ next game with the Lakers in the Summer League?
Bronny James made his Lakers debut with on Saturday, scoring four points in 22 minutes. Los Angeles will continue their Summer League tour Sunday night.
It’s going to be the biggest story in the NBA next season, and we got our first preview of it last night from Chase Center. Bronny James made his Lakers debut just over a week after being drafted by Los Angeles with the 55th pick in the draft.
Plenty of debut hype
It was the most highly anticipated debut of a second round selection in NBA Summer League. There is usually quite a bit of excitement around the Summer League, but that usually is focused around a top pick like Victory Wembanyama or Bronny James’ dad LeBron decades ago.
Bronny was in the starting five for the Lakers, and so was first round pick Dalton Knecht who had 12 points in his debut. Bronny had a couple nice plays that even drew some praise from his dad, who is Las Vegas getting ready for the Olympics with Team USA, but it wasn’t a performance that is going to silence a lot of the critics that sounded off after he was taken in the second round.
LeBron was shown a highlight his son’s first basket in a Lakers jersey to which he replied, “That’s tough.” Bronny came off a pick at the top of the key and drove strong to the cup laying in high off the glass. It was pretty similar to a play that we have seen from his dad hundreds if not thousands of times.
Bronny amazed by atmosphere
James finished the game against the Kings with 4 points, 2, rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 2/9 from the field. It may not have been the dream start for “The Prince” of the NBA, but there were flashes, and moments where he showed what many scouts predicted. A great athlete with a fantastic feel for the game who brings energy on the defensive end and can run the floor.
After the game, Bronny told reporters he was surprised by “the atmosphere.” Saying it “It was a big game for me, but I didn’t know people from Golden State would come and rep for me. So that was pretty nice to see.” The Lakers ended up losing the game to the Kings and Adonis Arms who had 32 points in the victory.
The Lakers will continue their Summer League tour in the California Classic against the Golden State Warriors who are coming off a debut win over the Miami Heat in a 105-66 blow out. The Lakers and Warriors are set to tip off Day 2 of the California Classic on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET from Chase Center.