Bronny James struggled through a 1-for-12 shooting performance in his preseason debut, but Lakers coach JJ Redick said he is « a totally different player than he was a year ago. »
— Three days shy of a year after Bronny James made his preseason debut with the Los Angeles Lakers in this desert arena, the NBA’s most famous son resumed his quest to show he belongs in the big leagues.
Though his 1-for-12 shooting performance in the Lakers’ opener wasn’t ideal, James felt his effort Friday night was another step forward in a process that’s already showing results to coach JJ Redick.
Bronny James scored eight points while LeBron James and Luka Doncic sat out of the Lakers’ 103-81 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Bronny’s 40-year-old father is progressing deliberately in his return from a minor nerve injury to begin his record 23rd NBA season, while Doncic is also ramping up with caution after his busy summer playing for Slovenia at EuroBasket.
That left plenty of playing time in the Coachella Valley for depth players like Bronny James, who hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter for his only field goal. He missed his other seven 3-point attempts while struggling for buckets alongside fellow 2024 draft pick Dalton Knecht, who was 2-for-10 with 1-for-7 shooting from distance.
« I felt like they were pretty good shots », said Bronny James, who turns 21 on Monday. « Not rushed, not forcing anything. Didn’t have my legs under me as much as I wanted to, so a lot of them were short, but most of them were on line.
