Bronny James got his first start with the LA Lakers as dad LeBron James and other starters rested against the Golden State Warriors in Friday’s preseason finale. The rookie impressed after getting a good chunk of minutes on the floor, possibly the most he gets for the rest of the year, as he’s likely heading to play in the G League.
Here’s who Bronny performed in Friday’s game:
Bronny James tallied 17 points on 7 of 17 shots, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and a block, playing 35:19 minutes. He committed two turnovers and had four personal fouls. Bronny was a +/- -29. Bronny shot 1 of 5 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line.
Recap of Bronny James’s impressive showing vs Warriors in preseason finale
Bronny got his first game points after he made a baseline cut to get an open lane to the rim in the first minute.
However, his woes from the 3-point range continued after he missed another wide-open opportunity on his next possession. Bronny exited the game at the 7:00-minute mark and returned with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
Bronny played eight minutes in the second quarter and had a quiet stretch until the 1:48 mark when he made his first preseason 3 off an offensive rebound. He followed it with a floater to score his seventh point with 13 seconds left.
Bronny continued to look more comfortable as the game progressed. He played the entire third quarter and added eight points in that span, shooting 4 of 9. That included an impressive dunk off an alley-oop lob from fellow rookie Quincy Olivary. He made good reads, cutting to the rim whenever there was an opening while keeping his options open from the midrange.
The rookie had a relatively quiet fourth quarter as he added only two points off free throws, missing his only two shots from the floor.
The Lakers lost 132-74 after playing only two bench rotation players, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish. All the others were either their rookies, sophomores, or players on two way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals.