After recently making his NBA debut, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Bronny James is playing in his first G League game Saturday to further his development.
James will play for the South Bay Lakers at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif., which is also the Los Angeles Lakers training facility. Los Angeles plans for James to shuffle between the official Lakers roster and the South Bay roster during the season.
On Saturday, James and South Bay will host the Salt Lake City Stars, the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets for the game are sold out, South Bay announced Friday morning.
The game is available for streaming on Tubi and Spectrum SportsNet locally, as well as on YouTube in Canada and Mexico.
James, the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, debuted with Los Angeles on Oct. 22, where he and his father, LeBron, shared the court as the first father-son duo in league history to play together. In James’ second NBA appearance, on Oct. 30 in Cleveland, he scored his first basket after the hometown crowd chanted his name and cheered when he entered the game.
How to Watch
When: Saturday, 5 p.m. PT
Where: UCLA Health Training Center
Watch: The game is streaming on Tubi and Spectrum SportsNet locally and on YouTube in Canada and Mexico.
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How does Bronny handle the moment?
Similar to NBA opening night, all eyes will be on James on Saturday. Nothing has gotten Lakers fans more excited at games — this past summer or this regular season — than him playing.
Saturday’s game sold out more than 24 hours in advance. Resale tickets are starting at $200. It promises to be a raucous environment — at least by G League standards. Bronny and LeBron have said the 20-year-old is used to the pressure by now, but this will be the most he plays in a game since Summer League and relatively higher stakes. — Jovan Buha, Lakers beat writer
What’s his offensive role?
The Lakers are implementing the same systems and principles with their NBA and G League teams, so this will be the first look at how Los Angeles wants to use James offensively in competitive minutes. He projects more as a spot-up threat and secondary ball handler, but he’s been running more pick-and-rolls and taking off-the-dribble jumpers in his time in the NBA.
With a clearer hierarchy — he has largely played in garbage time, which can often devolve into freestyle basketball — James’ usage and role will be telling. — Buha
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(Photo: Jonathan Hui / Imagn Images)
