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Bronny James took the spotlight while his father, LeBron James, had stepped away from the Los Angeles Lakers for the time being.
Bronny dropped a career-high 30 points in his first G League road game for the South Bay Lakers, who fell short of their upset bid against the Western Conference’s top team Valley Suns, in a 106-100 loss in Phoenix on December 12.
“It feels good to be here with my guys,” Bronny told reporters after his breakout game. “I just want to play, that’s the main thing. So I just came out here with the G and got some work done, and I just want to play.”
Bronny James said “I just want to play” about coming with South Bay Lakers to face Valley Suns for his G League road game debut (30 points).
James called TyTy Washington Jr. (22 points), after guarding each other in the game, an “amazing player” he’s known since their HS days. pic.twitter.com/mh877QHg9p
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Bronny did not only play but showed out as he led all scorers on a 13-of-23 shooting night, including 3-of-9 from the 3-point line, easily the best offensive game of his young professional career.
“It felt pretty good,” Bronny told reporters. “Got some points on the board, so I was gonna get out there, but just continue to play my game and learn from every game.”
The polarizing Lakers rookie added three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in just 25 minutes of action.
Bronny James Was on Fire
Bronny started the game on fire, hitting his first three 3-point attempts. He had eight points in the opening quarter.
Then, in the second quarter, he made one highlight play after another — catching a lob pass off a backdoor cut for a slam and throwing an alley-oop pass to his teammate Vincent Valerio-Bodon.
Bronny’s third 3-point of the night opened up South Bay’s biggest lead at 44-28.
“I just was trying to grow as I get older and trying to improve my game as much as I can. So, I’m just coming out here and being as aggressive as I can and playing my game. And so, like, that’s what was good for me today.”
But it quickly fell apart for Bronny and South Bay in the second half, especially in the third quarter.
“I think we were just making some controllable mistakes, and we just weren’t playing with enough urgency in the second half,” Bronny told reporters. “It costs us. So I just feel like we got to play our game, the whole game.”
Going Toe-to-Toe Against Former 1st Round Pick
The Suns rallied behind former first-round pick TyTy Washington Jr. The 6-foot-3 former Kentucky star point guard led the Suns with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds with three steals.
Washington had the last laugh in his personal duel with Bronny.
“TyTy is an amazing player,” Bronny told reporters. “I’ve been watching him and playing aside him for all of high school now, so I know what type of hooper he is and it showed tonight. We went at it, and he’s a great player.”
Bronny, who isn’t part of the Lakers rotation, continued to show marked improvement in the G League as the team ditched their initial plan of just letting him play in South Bay’s home games.
The decision proved wise as Bronny get all the reps he could get to develop.
Bronny is now averaging 14.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists with 1.0 steal and a block in four G League games.
But Bronny isn’t only concerned in developing his individual game as he looks forward to helping the 4-9 South Bay Lakers climb out of the cellar in the West led by the 9-3 Suns.
“Just cleaning up little mistakes and just continue to play our game,” Bronny told reporters. “We look good during that first half. So I feel like locking in on the little details and and continue to do that, it’s gonna be good for us.”
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Lakers Rookie Bronny James Gets Real on G League Career Game