After making history in his NBA debut, Bronny James will soon be on the move.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin, the Los Angeles Lakers are planning to send the rookie guard to their South Bay G League affiliate in the coming weeks. James will reportedly spend the Lakers’ upcoming five-game road trip with the NBA team before being sent to the G League affiliate.
It’s hardly surprising that the Lakers would opt to send James to the G League, as doing so will allow the USC product to get more consistent playing time than he’d likely receive at the NBA level. The 20-year-old James made his NBA debut in the Lakers’ season-opening win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, teaming with his father, LeBron James, to become the first father-son duo to share a court in NBA history.
Speaking to reporters at the Lakers’ media day last month, the older James discussed his team’s plan for his son’s playing time.
“Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player no matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team and him continuing to get better and better and better,” LeBron said, per ESPN. “His job is to put the work in and get better and better, just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable, and he’s going to hold us accountable. And if we all do that, we all get better, because we’re all one team. We’re a reflection of South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us.”
But before making his G League debut, the younger James will spend at least the next seven games as a member of the Lakers’ active roster. That starts with a matchup on Friday night, in which Los Angeles will host the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena.
[ESPN]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.