LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 18: Bronny James Jr. #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers prepares to inbound the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers early in the second half of a 2024 NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center on July 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 93-89. Candice Ward/Getty Images/AFP
LAS VEGAS — Bronny James was a spectator Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers determined they had seen all they needed to see from the NBA’s most talked-about player.
He rebounded after a disappointing start to the NBA Summer League, scoring 25 points on 10 of 21 shots over his final two games, including 3 of 8 baskets from 3-point range, after going 0 of 15 in the first four games.
“He's had two really good games the last two games,” Lakers Summer League coach Dan Johnson said. “I think that will help him moving forward into the summer, so we can work on different things with him. Just confidence and knowing he can play at this level. It's still going to take a lot of time and a lot of practices.”
Read: Lakers' Bronny James continues his impressive form in NBA Summer League
Some fans were upset that the Lakers benched James, and briefly chanted “We want Bronny” during the first quarter of Saturday's 107-81 win over the Chicago Bulls.
During Summer League in San Francisco and then Las Vegas, the son of NBA career-scoring leader LeBron James made 7 of 31 shots. That fueled talk — or fueled the notion — that the Lakers had wasted their 55th pick to do the face of the franchise a favor.
The younger James silenced at least some of the talk with his performances against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and the Cleveland Cavaliers the following night.
“Usually, he doesn't let any of that get to him,” Johnson said. “He just wants to play basketball and be on the team. He's a good kid. He listens. He's trying to learn.”
There is still a lot to learn.
At 6-foot-2, James has the build of a point guard but does not bring the ball up the court because he is concerned about ball handling. Instead, he plays shooting guard, which can be problematic when playing against taller players at that position.
READ: Bronny James struggles, Lakers lose to Celtics in NBA Summer League
“I think right now he's more of a (shooting guard), but I think he can be combo-ish,” Johnson said. “He recognizes things really well. We give him things — plays, coverages, defensively. He recognizes it pretty quickly, so I think he could potentially be a (point guard). Maybe we'll work on it in the summer, but I think right now being a secondary playmaker is where he is right now.”
James also needs to show he can be a consistent perimeter shooter, and two promising games at the end of the summer won’t assuage all concerns.
The Lakers will probably try to bring him up slowly, giving James a chance to work out some kinks in the G League. But the fan favorite from Summer League will get his chance with the big club, too, and one of the NBA's most historic franchises knows how much buzz James will garner when he's called up.
No father-son duo has ever taken the court at the same time for an NBA game, and this is rare for any major North American sport.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. shared the same Major League Baseball field with the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991. In the 1970s and '80s, hockey legend Gordie Howe played alongside his sons Marty and Mark with the WHA's Houston Aeros and the NHL's Hartford Whalers.
The James family's inclusion on the list comes after Bronny suffered a health scare last summer. He suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout at the University of Southern California. James had to undergo surgery to diagnose a congenital heart defect, forcing him to miss the Trojans' season opener.
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He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his one college season, and opted to declare for the NBA draft rather than return to USC.
