Lakers Recall Bronny James Ahead of Game vs Nets: Report

The Los Angeles rookie will be available against Brooklyn on Friday.

Jan 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) in action against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Just hours after it was revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers would be sending rookie point guard Bronny James down to the South Bay Lakers, L.A.'s G League affiliate squad, to put in some reps on Friday night, Trevor Lane of Front Office Sports reports that the 20-year-old has already been recalled from El Segundo.

The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled guard Bronny James from the South Bay Lakers.

— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) January 17, 2025

The Los Angeles rookie will now be available against the 14-27 Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

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Bronny James, the eldest son of 40-year-old Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron, has played sparingly for the Lakers proper, and is not really a part of L.A. head coach JJ Redick's night-in, night-out rotation.

The 6-foot-2 guard has appeared in nine contests for Los Angeles proper, averaging 0.4 points on 11.1 percent field goal shooting and 100 percent foul line shooting and 0.3 assists across 2.4 minutes a night.

Bronny has begun to truly develop with South Bay of late. At one point last month, he had a particularly prolific stretch.

Bronny James’ last 3 games in the G League. 😳 pic.twitter.com/Iyoe9e9lO5

— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) December 20, 2024

Across nine combined Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games for South Bay, Bronny James is averaging a respectable 14.7 points on .379/.283/.688 shooting splits, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.

Los Angeles selected the raw guard with the No. 55 overall pick in last June's 2024 NBA Draft. He's thought of as a defense-first guard, but seems likely to be a multi-year project player before he can meaningfully contribute at the NBA level. The Lakers signed him to a four-year, fully-guaranteed deal after drafting him, a rarity for a late second round draft selection.

James' fellow rookie, former Tennessee shooting guard Dalton Knecht, is more of a win-now piece. The sharpshooter, drafted at No. 17 in the first round, is averaging 9.4 points on .455/.339/.809 shooting splits, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists across 38 contests with the Lakers.

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