Los Angeles Lakers' Bronny James Turns Heads In NBA Summer League Debut

SAN FRANCISCO- The Los Angeles Lakers and Bronny James played their second game this Summer when they faced off against the Miami Heat in Day Two of the California Classic on Sunday afternoon. The former USC Trojans guard was inactive for Saturday’s contest, so Sunday was his first action so far in Summer League.

Bronny James Make 2025 Summer League Debut

Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) warms up prior to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

It came as a surprise on Saturday when the Los Angeles Lakers took the floor for pregame warmups at Chase Center and Bronny James was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. There was no official report to why he did not play.

On Sunday, Bronny took the court for the Lakers for the first time since his rookie season in the NBA. He got the nod in the Lakers starting lineup.

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Bronny James Comes Out on Fire vs. Heat

Bronny James wasted no time bringing the crowd to its feet in Sunday’s contest. Just 30 seconds into the game, Bronny got a steal and threw down thunderous slam dunk. One minute later, Bronny knocked down a corner three-pointer. Bronny subbed out with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter with five points, 2/2 from the field, 1/2 from three-point land, and one steal.

BRONNY JAMES WITH THE HUGE THROWDOWN 😮‍💨

MIA-LAL | California Classic on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/D9ctrSHfgn
— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2025

James checked back into the ball game at the start of the second quarter and continued to be very aggressive on the offensive end. Bronny missed his his first three shots in the second quarter before being subbed out at the 6:42 mark.

James came back into the game 3:42 remaining in the half. He quickly buried a three-pointer from the corner and later on dropped a pair of free throws. He missed a half-court heave as the second quarter buzzer sounded in what would be his last action on the court. James did not play the rest of the game to the dismay of the many fans in attendance that continued to chant "We want Bronny" throughout the second half.

James's final stat line was 10 points, 2 rebounds, and one steal in 11 minutes played. James shot 3/7 from the field 2/5 from three-point land, and 2/2 from the free throw line.

Lakers Win First Summer League Game in 2025

Even without Bronny James in the second half, the Lakers offense didn't skip a beat. They ended up shooting 57.1 percent from the field in route to an impressive 103-83 win. The Lakers had four other players besides Bronny score in double figures.

Cole Swider led the way with 20 points, Darius Bazley had 16, DJ Steward had 14, and Sir'Jabari Rice had 13. The Lakers will be in action one more time in San Francisco on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs before they head down to Las Vegas next week.