Grading Bronny James’ Performance In Lakers Summer League Debut

Bronny James made his Summer League debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

When L.A. made the predictable decision to select Bronny in the second-round of the 2024 NBA Draft, most seemed pretty happy with the choice. Even the Lakers immediately began making moves to dump one player currently on the roster to free up playing time for Bronny.

“James’s game is conspicuously understated. He is a defensive-minded guard with good physical tools,” Danny Chau of The Ringer wrote.

“The kind of player that good teams tend to have in spades. It’s kind of an ordinary pitch, which presents a strange juxtaposition to the hype, anti-hype, and LeBron-by-proxy vitriol that’s been lobbed his way. There was no other team in the league more attuned to what Bronny can or can’t be. If the Lakers can coax some actual makes out of his aesthetically pleasing shooting mechanics, it will go a long way toward blocking out the noise.”

Chau wasn’t alone in being optimistic.

“The USC freshman has plenty of untapped potential to be accessed as a tenacious perimeter defender, solid perimeter shooter and growing playmaker,” Kyle Irving of The Sporting News wrote, while giving the pick an ‘A’ grade. “He’s the type of 3-and-D prospect who typically plays well off a passer like his dad.”

On Saturday, fans got to see how Bronny actually looks on the court when the Lakers took on the Sacramento Kings in Summer League action.

So how did Bronny fare? Not well. He went 2-of-9 from the floor, putting up just four points for the day. He also chipped in two assists and two rebounds. His much-heralded defense also didn’t look particularly special. And the fact that he missed both free throws he took didn’t evoke a ton if the way of optimism that he would at least be able to deliver if sent to the charity stripe.

Based on all that, it is hard to grade Bronny’s performance with anything above a D+.

Bronny, for his part, didn’t seem too broken up about his poor showing. When asked if anything surprised him during the game, he didn’t even bother addressing his weak on-the-court performance.

“Maybe the atmosphere. It was more than I expected,” Bronny said. “I mean, it’s a big game for me, but I didn’t know if people from Golden State would come and rep for me. So that was pretty nice to see.”

Will Bronny improve as Summer League ultimately chugs along? Time will tell.

Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school Games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.