Bronny James is spending most of his rookie season in the G League after he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. James was always viewed as a long-term developmental prospect by the Lakers, and getting reps in the G League is critical for his continued growth. On Friday night, the 20-year-old James had the best game of his professional career so far.
James put up 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range to lead the South Bay Lakers to a win over the Rip City Remix. The 31-points represents a new career-high for James, who never scored more than 15 points during his lone season at USC.
James punctuated his career-game with an amazing poster dunk over the Rip City defender during the third quarter. Look him Bronny get up:
What a dunk. A guy whose legal name is LeBron James Jr. should be a good run-and-jump athlete, and Bronny certainly is. Too bad he doesn’t have his dad’s height.
Bronny still has a long way to go before he’s a solid NBA role player, but being able to put up big numbers in a G League game is a positive sign for his development. The dunk is going to get all the attention, but shooting 5-of-11 from three is even more encouraging. If Bronny is going to hit his potential, he’s going to have to be a defensive pest at the point of attack against point guards, and he’s going to have to space the floor and knock-down shots as an off-ball offensive player.
Watch full highlights of Bronny James’ 31-point game in the G League here:
Great game from Bronny. Even better that he got his first real poster out of it.
