The Los Angeles Lakers missed a handful of key players on Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
Before the game, the Lakers ruled out Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Marcus Smart. A lack of availability from those guys meant some reserves had to step up. Bronny James' number was called.
Being who he is, Bronny had the spotlight on him during his 25-minute showing off the bench.
Fortunately for the Lakers, James had a stellar evening, despite the final results.
Bronny's Big Night
In 25 minutes, James shot 5-10 from the field, draining both of his three-pointers. He finished the game with 12 points, coming second to Drew Timme in bench scoring.
Beyond that, Bronny dished out six assists while turning the ball over just twice. He also came down with three rebounds on the defensive end, and blocked one shot.
Bronny was the talk of social media, as he had one of his better showings this season at Crypto.com Arena.
"Clears Gabe Vincent," one fan said on social media, taking a shot at the traded veteran, who was replaced in a deadline deal for the veteran sharpshooter, Luke Kennard. It made some fans wonder why Vincent, who was struggling this season, steadily landed more playing time than the young Bronny.
"BRONNY CAN PLAY," an excited fan added. Several sentiments stated that James should be seeing the court more this year, especially after seeing what he could do with extended playing time.
"I swear Bronny ain’t even half bad, he just has the pressure of being LeBron’s son. If he was treated like a regular role player and utilized more often in spot minutes instead of trying to make him the next superstar, I think he would do okay," another fan wrote.
"Unpopular opinion: he should be playing more minutes regularly," another one pleaded. "Bronny is good when he's aggressive and confident."
Aggressiveness from Bronny James is something the Lakers have been searching for throughout his second season in the NBA. The search is the reason behind multiple G League assignments for the former USC standout.
When he's not buried in a bench role, James has more freedom to work on every angle of his game when he's got a South Bay uniform on. During the Lakers' Tip-Off Tournament run, James averaged 30 minutes of playing time in six games. Bronny struggled with his shot, making just 35.6 percent from the field.
He found a way to settle in with limited appearances during the G League regular season. In three games (31.3 minutes per game) Bronny has made 62.5 percent of his shots from the field and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. He is posting 17.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in G League play.
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