Looking a lot like dad, Bronny James makes NBA Summer League debut

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As soon as that second-quarter layup went in and he lastly had his first NBA factors after a trio of misses, Bronny James might exhale and the whole lot started to decelerate.

He hardly expects to be excellent at this early stage of his skilled profession, and each contact and possession will present a chance for progress and studying.

He positive felt the love and help Saturday, even taking part in within the Bay Space dominated by Stephen Curry and the Warriors.

“The environment, it was greater than I anticipated,” a grinning James stated. “It’s a giant sport for me, however I didn’t know the folks of Golden State would come and rep for me, in order that was fairly good to see.”

Outsized headphones on his ears and wearing full Lakers gold as he equipped for his NBA Summer season League debut Saturday, the rookie regarded a lot like his well-known father, LeBron, it brought on some at Chase Heart to do a double-take.

Right down to their acquainted mannerisms, facial expressions and the way in which they run or shuffle again on protection. Bronny James took his place within the beginning lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers and his skilled profession was formally underway, with loads of scouts within the constructing to witness it as he wore jersey No. 9 — to not be confused together with his dad’s former 6 uniform he sported earlier than switching to 23.

“Each first sport that I step on the following degree there’s at all times some butterflies in my abdomen, however as quickly because the ball suggestions and we go a pair occasions down all of it goes away and I’m simply taking part in basketball,” he stated. “It’s at all times going to be there however get by means of it.”

The youthful James wound up 2 for 9 for 4 factors, lacking all three of his 3s, with a pair of assists, two rebounds and a steal in just below 22 minutes of courtroom time — 21:43 to be precise — because the Lakers misplaced 108-94 to the Sacramento Kings.

James missed his preliminary two photographs whereas taking part in practically six minutes in his first motion — grabbing a defensive rebound 1 minute, 20 seconds into the sport then lacking a 21-foot soar shot moments later. He got here up brief on a 26-foot 3-point attempt on the 4:23 mark of the opening quarter earlier than getting a breather.

There have been cheers and a heat ovation when James returned to the courtroom on the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. He was initially whistled for his first profession foul on a 3-point try by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed on the best wing with 7:23 remaining, and James argued briefly earlier than the play went to replay assessment and was overturned. James missed a 3 off the entrance rim from the highest of the arc at 7:04.

Then, finally, James scored his first NBA factors on a driving layup 5:51 earlier than halftime.

“Moments like that may gradual the sport down for you particularly as a result of I wasn’t as productive as I needed to beforehand,” he stated. “… I couldn’t get the 3-ball to fall, however all of the reps it’s going to come back extra clean.”

James missed a pair of free throws on the 4:43 mark of the third interval in his first journey to the road.

At one level throughout his warmup routine, the 6-foot-2 guard stood with arms on hips in a resemblant place to considered one of his father. And throughout the sport, the son leaned over by the baseline 3-point nook, gripping his knees whereas ready for the offensive possession to start.

The youthful James was drafted by the Lakers with the fifty fifth total choice within the second spherical out of the College of Southern California.

He’ll get one other likelihood to play Sunday, when the Lakers face the Warriors, once more on the Chase Heart. Coach Dane Johnson plans to provide James loads of probabilities to acclimate and achieve invaluable expertise within the coming days and weeks.

“Hopefully he’ll play all of the video games, we’ll see the way it goes,” Johnson stated. “We’re going to attempt to combine him and get him as many reps as we are able to. He wants extra expertise taking part in.”

Johnson applauded James’ eager courtroom consciousness, noting, “everyone knows he has good instincts already, so discovering the consistency inside these he’ll construct as we preserve going ahead in the summertime league and all through the approaching season. His instincts are there, we’ve simply obtained to maintain constructing habits.”

If all goes as deliberate, the 19-year-old James and his dad would turn into the primary father-son pair to play within the NBA on the identical time — and on the identical group no much less.

“What he does within the California Basic and Summer season League, it doesn’t matter if he performs effectively and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play effectively,” LeBron James stated at USA Basketball’s coaching camp in Las Vegas. “I simply need him to proceed to develop, practices, movie classes, his particular person exercises. You possibly can’t take something so far as stat clever from the California Basic and Summer season League and produce it as soon as the season begins. The one factor that issues is him getting higher and stacking days.”

Bronny is NBA profession scoring chief LeBron’s oldest son. He survived cardiac arrest final July 24 throughout a casual group exercise at USC and it was later decided he had a congenital coronary heart defect. The youthful James signed a four-year contract that may pay him $7.9 million.

He’ll remind himself alongside the way in which to remain aggressive and “imagine in myself realizing I could make performs for myself and my teammates.”

“ my errors and looking out on the issues I did proper is absolutely good for me,” James stated. “But additionally simply sport by sport rising that consolation in my taking part in my sport, I really feel like that’s a giant a part of why I come out right here and get these reps in.”

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AP Basketball Author Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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