Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, has appeared in 18 NBA games during his rookie season. Averaging just 1.4 points on 25.8% shooting in those contests, James had found far more success in the G League.
Selected 55th in the 2024 NBA Draft, James was expected to spend a great deal of time with the South Bay Lakers this season. That has been the case. The former USC guard has appeared in 16 G League games (seven games in the league’s tip-off tournament and nine in the regular season).
James’ last G League appearance came on Monday when he scored 16 points in a loss to the Motor City Cruise.
With the Lakers on a four-game road trip, the team announced ahead of their trip opener with the Boston Celtics that James had been sent to the G League. This was an expected move, as South Bay had three games on its schedule while the NBA club was on the road.
While it would have made sense for the Lakers to keep James in the G League for the entirety of their road trip, the team announced on Wednesday he had been recalled ahead of Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Los Angeles does not return home until March 16 against the Phoenix Suns, meaning James will miss South Bay’s contest against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Thursday, and potentially the rematch on Saturday.
However, the Lakers were extremely short-handed heading into the game against the Bucks, which is the front end of a back-to-back. They play in Denver on Friday night. LeBron James and Rui Hachimura returned to LA earlier this week due to injuries. They join Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber on the unable to play list. So, the team had little choice but to recall the rookie.
In his 16 G League games, James is averaging 17.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. The 6-foot-2 guard has improved those averages to 20.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists in his nine regular-season G League games (via NBA G League stats).
