Bronny James, son of all-time NBA leading scorer LeBron James, had the best showing of his young professional career on Friday, posting 17 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ final preseason game.
In his first preseason start, James was 7-for-17 from the field and also recorded four rebounds, one assist, three steals and a block. However, the shorthanded Lakers – who opted to rest several key players including James Sr. – suffered a heavy 132-74 road defeat to the Golden State Warriors.
Multiple-time All-Star Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were among the players to not feature as first-time head coach JJ Redick handed the keys to reserve players and rookies. The Warriors, meanwhile, were without star point guard Steph Curry but coach Steve Kerr gave playing time to all his other rotation players.
Experience proved the difference as Golden State opened up an 18-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back, beating its Western Conference rival by almost 60 points.
Despite having impressed on the defensive side of the ball, James had struggled offensively prior to Friday’s matchup, averaging only 1.6 points per game on 20% shooting through his first five preseason games. Per StatMuse, he had more turnovers than field goals across those games.
However, the 20-year-old showed signs of promise in his most confident display to date. He made his first three-pointer of the preseason and threw down a highlight alley-oop dunk off a lob from fellow rookie Quincy Olivari.
James – who was drafted 55th overall earlier this year after one season at the University of Southern California – said that he was focusing on finding and understanding his role on the team, though he embraced the chance to take on more responsibility in the lineup.
“If I’m given the opportunity to go out there and play 35 minutes, I’m gonna go out there and play,” he told reporters postgame. “So I feel like I was given an amazing opportunity to go and showcase what I can do down the road…it’s just a great moment for me.”
Redick made sure to keep the attention on the bigger picture after the game.
“For (James) and all our younger players, all the moments are building blocks,” he said. “Not just the good moments, the bad moments are learning opportunities. I think you have to have a level of patience, a level of optimism. I am very confident in the level of work that our young guys have had.
“For him, I’m sure it felt good to have 17 points – I’m not even remotely concerned about that. It’s not even on my radar. We’re trying to help him grow into a great basketball player.”
Olivari scored a game-high 22 points for LA, while Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 17 points. Brandin Podziemski added 16 and was one of five other players to record double-digit point totals in a balanced scoring night for the Warriors.
The first regular season clash between the Lakers and Warriors will be a huge one – the west coast rivals will battle it out on Christmas Day in a primetime matchup.
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