Lakers News: Bronny James Goes Off in G League Road Debut

The rookie guard finally had a big scoring night.

Dec 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) looks to inbound the ball in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Bronny James finally enjoyed a big scoring night this year.

Granted, it was for the Lakers' G League affiliate squad, the South Bay Lakers, but it was a momentous occasion nevertheless.

The 6-foot-2 pro, eldest son of 20-time All-NBA Lakers power forward LeBron James, was selected with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 Draft after a one-and-done season with the USC Trojans.

He scored 30 points against the Phoenix Suns' NBAGL affiliate, the Valley Suns, in a 106-100 defeat on Thursday night. In so doing, he practically doubled his prior career-best scoring tally of 16 points for South Bay, scored during a 119-111 December 7 victory against the L.A. Clippers' G League affiliate, the San Diego Clippers. Bronny James scored those 30 points on a fairly efficient 13-of-23 shooting from the field (including 3-of-9 shooting from long range), while also pulling down three boards, dishing out two dimes, swiping a steal and blocking a shot across 25 minutes a night.

James started things off with two pull-up 3-point shots in the contest's first quarter. He also flashed impressive athleticism with an alley-oop.

Los Angeles had previously declared that the team intended to play the first-year guard in South Bay home games, allowing him to otherwise travel with the Lakers proper.

Read More: Bronny James to Only Play Home Games for South Bay Lakers

It appears Los Angeles has now reversed course, and is looking to maximize his output with the club's G League affiliate. Given that he's not currently a part of L.A.'s rotation and has appeared pretty raw in the seven games he has played (albeit in mop-up minutes), it behooves the Lakers to develop Bronny James elsewhere.

Read More: Lakers' Bronny James to Make G League Road Debut

A career-high night for Bronny James! The @Lakers draftee made his road debut, scoring a game-high 30 points on 57% shooting. Bronny, coming off a previous career-high of 16 points, is now averaging 14 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG. 👏🙌 pic.twitter.com/5QnpeEZQTp

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 13, 2024

James' big night has greatly improved his G League scoring average. Across his four regular season games for South Bay so far, the 20-year-old is now averaging 14.0 points on .404/.158/.667 shooting splits, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals a night.

South Bay will stay in Tempe, Arizona's Mullett Arena, as the club next plays the Valley Suns on Friday night. It'll be the second evening of a back-to-back slate of bouts.

Next up for South Bay will be an appearance in the NBA G League Winter Showcase from December 19-22 in Orlando.

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