Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James made his G League debut on Saturday night, helping the South Bay Lakers cruise to a victory over the Salt Lake City Stars in their season opener.
James’ stats were not eye-popping as he finished with six points on 2-for-9 shooting and 0-for-4 from 3 to go along with four assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block and five turnovers in 31 minutes. His impact was felt though as the game at UCLA Health Training Center was sold out and many kids were there chanting Bronny’s name while also wearing his jersey.
“I mean, this doesn’t normally happen after a G League game. Obviously, with Bronny there’s a boatload of excitement and there should be. It’s one of the great stories in basketball,” Salt Lake coach Steve Wojciechowski said of 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.”
As is the case with most second-round rookies, Bronny is expecting to go back and forth between the G League and NBA this season. Whenever he does play for South Bay the excitement and buzz will be there, and he is embracing that.
“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.”
As far as how he played in his first game, Bronny felt good despite not putting up huge numbers.
“It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game,” James added. “Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good.”
While many people came to see Bronny, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell, they also got to watch other Lakers G League players like Quincy Olivari and Maxwell Lewis play extremely well. As Wojciechowski alluded to, there’s no denying that Bronny will bring buzz to the G League and other players will benefit from that exposure.
G League plan for Bronny James
According to recent reports, Bronny James is only expected to play in home games for the South Bay Lakers in the G League this season as he looks to balance his schedule with the parent team.
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