Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, returned to game action on Saturday night after missing nearly one month with a left heel contusion. Starting for the South Bay Lakers in their G League contest against the San Diego Clippers, James turned in a career-high in scoring.
Playing 21 minutes in South Bay's 119-111 victory, James scored 16 points while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out two assists. While the efficiency was still not great for James (6/15 from the field and 0/5 from three), this was his best all-around performance at the professional since making his NBA debut on Oct. 22.
This performance from James drew a reaction from his mother, Savannah James, who shared a post on her Instagram story. Resharing her son's highlights, Savannah added a simple message with purple and yellow heart emojis.
Via @mrs_savannahrj on Instagram: ""
Savannah James reacts to Bronny James' performance with the South Bay Lakers. @mrs_savannahrj / Instagram @mrs_savannahrj / Instagram
James' performance on Saturday night brought his season averages in the G League to 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft is converting on 29.4% of his G League field goal attempts and has missed all 10 of his three-point attempts.
The South Bay Lakers will now begin a six-game road trip that will presumably be played without James. Only having the former USC guard play in G League home games, the Lakers have kept him with the NBA squad whenever South Bay hits the road.
The next South Bay home game will be played on Jan. 7 against the Delaware Blue Coats. Unless the Lakers change their plans, James will be with the NBA team until then.
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This story was originally published December 8, 2024, 3:29 PM.