Bronny James made his G League debut for the South Bay Lakers on Saturday against the Salt Lake City Stars in front of a sold-out crowd at the UCLA Health Training Center. James recorded six points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and one block on the night as the Lakers comfortably won 110-96. It was a decent all-around showing and NBA fans had some interesting reactions to it.
"For those who didn't watch, he played decent. Missed a couple of threes he should have made but was decent when it came to playmaking and defense," one fan had a message for those who didn't see the game.
"He’s coming around. Improving every game," one fan believes James has been improving with each game.
"Literally good all-around game + Defense," one fan wrote.
"Still has work to do before he comes off the bench in the league," one fan says James still has ways to go before he is good enough for a bench role in the NBA.
"Still better than DLo," one fan hilariously stated James is better than D'Angelo Russell.
There were certainly some positives to take from that performance by James. As some fans pointed out, he played good defense and showed promise as a playmaker as well, as LeBron James, Savannah, Zhuri, Gloria, and Anthony Davis watched on from courtside.
On the negative front, though, the same issue keeps popping up. Bronny went 2-9 from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arc against Salt Lake. The 20-year-old has struggled with his shot throughout his time with the Lakers and he needs to improve on that front if he is to ever become a good role player in the NBA. James also had five turnovers against Salt Lake and that's not ideal.
The South Bay Lakers are now 1-0 on the season and they'll take on the Santa Cruz Warriors next on Nov. 15 at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Bronny isn't expected to feature in that contest, though, as it has been reported that the plan is for him to be a home-only player. He is going to be shuttling between the Lakers' active roster and the G League team this season and should be back with the NBA team soon enough.
While James didn't quite have a flashy outing, some of his teammates sure did. Quincy Olivari had 28 points (8-19 FG), 10 rebounds, six assists, and one steal. Maxwell Lewis, meanwhile, had 27 points (10-18 FG), five rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks.
As for the Salt Lake City Stars, who are now 0-1, Oscar Tshiebwe was their leading scorer and rebounder, recording 16 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and one steal on the night. They'll be taking on the Stockton Kings next on Nov. 12 at Adventist Health Arena.
