July 6, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James Jr. (9) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Dane Goodwin (33) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports Bronny James will make his second professional appearance Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors summer league team, and the Los Angeles Lakers rookie admitted the nerves got to him during his debut Saturday.
James scored four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the Lakers’ 108-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic. He also added two assists, two rebounds and a steal in 22 minutes of play.
“Every first game I take to the next level, I still get butterflies in my stomach,” the 19-year-old told reporters, according to ESPN. “But as soon as the ball swings and we lose a few points, it all goes away and I just play basketball. So it’s always going to be there, but I’ll get through it.”
The Lakers selected Bronny, formally known as LeBron James Jr., with the 55th overall pick in last month’s NBA draft. His famous father, also a teammate of the Lakers, was not in attendance and will not be at Sunday’s game in San Francisco. He is in Las Vegas with other NBA stars preparing to play for Team USA at the Paris Olympics later this month.
However, the elder James kept an eye on his son.
“What he does in the California Classic and Summer League, it doesn’t matter if he plays well or not,” LeBron said, according to ESPN. “I just want him to continue to improve (from) the practices, the video sessions, his individual workouts. You can’t take anything from the California Classic and Summer League stats and apply it once the season starts. So the only thing that matters is that he gets better and he gets better.”
Dane Johnson, the coach of the Lakers’ G League affiliate, is in charge of the summer league team. He said the plan is to give Bronny a chance to learn. Bronny, a guard, played one season — 25 games — of college basketball at Southern California after suffering a cardiac arrest during a summer workout last July.
“He’s going to play — if he’s healthy — throughout this program,” Johnson said of Bronny’s summer league schedule. “We’re going to try to integrate him and get him as many games as possible. Because he needs more game experience. And especially NBA experience. It’s a little different than college, so getting him some NBA games, in an NBA environment with good players, will help him in the long run.”
Dalton Knecht, selected by the Lakers in the first round with the 17th pick, shot 3 of 12 and scored 12 points.
After Sunday, the Lakers will conclude the California Classic on Wednesday against the Miami Heat, then begin play in Las Vegas on Friday against the Houston Rockets.
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