Although Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James’ rookie season in the NBA was full of ups and downs, he didn’t have to wait long at all to make NBA history.
He and his father LeBron were on the court together for 2:41 when the Lakers opened their season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 22, making them the first father-son duo to share the floor in NBA history.
The younger James recently reflected on his NBA debut and admitted that his nerves were through the roof.
“It was nuts, it was crazy,” he said of his debut. “A crazy experience to be a part of, but like the nervousness. It was out of the roof. I wasn’t shaking, but you know, I was ready to go out and play, but it’s different when your dad’s on the team. You got expectations. The Lakers, franchise has expectations. Yeah for sure, I’m a basketball head, so it was fun to just be out there and step on an NBA floor for the first time. It was crazy.”
The younger James didn’t exactly have a glamorous NBA debut in his limited minutes, as he finished 0-for-2 from the field, but the Lakers won the game and got to make history with their father-son duo.
The younger James then carried on with his rookie season, which was full of twists and turns. He began showing legitimate promise in the G League, but it didn’t immediately carry over to the NBA when the Lakers gave him minutes, meaningful or otherwise.
However, around the beginning of February, the younger James started to turn a corner when given minutes with Los Angeles. Among his top NBA performances from that point on were a nine-point showing against the Utah Jazz on 3-for-4 shooting and 17-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on 7-for-10 shooting.
Now, the 20-year-old will look to make a statement in his second NBA season after he had to deal with all sorts of noise and criticism as a rookie. He may have a chance at a legitimate role with the Lakers this coming season, which would give him an opportunity to get into a rhythm and be a consistent contributor for L.A.
Nobody can blame the younger James for being a bit nervous in his NBA debut. Hopefully, those same nerves won’t be much of a factor as he heads into his second NBA campaign, with the Lakers hoping to make some noise in a crowded Western Conference.