Former Lakers Rival Throws Major Shade at Bronny James

Ricardo Sandoval | Nov 11, 2024

Nov 6, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) shoots during warm ups prior to the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Bronny James made his G League debut on Saturday night.

It wasn't the best of nights for the 20-year-old, who recorded six points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 from three with four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and one block.

James didn't have the best of nights, and as he always does, former Lakers rival George Karl decided to throw shade at him for his debut.

He had this to say on his personal Twitter/X account.

Karl posted, "Is Legion Hoops trying to create news by showing Bronny is bad, like everyone knew he would be?? This ain’t news."

Is Legion Hoops trying to create news by showing Bronny is bad, like everyone knew he would be?? This ain’t news https://t.co/0cUClM68ox

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) November 10, 2024

This isn't the first time Karl has criticized the Lakers or has thrown shade their way. He's done it numerous times and got a kick out of it when the former team he coached, the Denver Nuggets, beat the Lakers in back-to-back playoff matchups.

Regardless of his words, the South Bay Lakers game was a miniature version of a regular-season Lakers game. The crowd was amped up to see Bronny in action as head coach JJ Redick, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, and Lakers teammates Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell all showed up in courtside seats, joining James' parents, LeBron and Savannah, and his younger sister, Zhuri.

Unlike Karl's words, Salt Lake Stars head coach Steve Wojciechowski is amazed at Bronny's story and how far he has come.

"It's one of the great stories in basketball," Wojciechowski said of Bronny James. "When you see him out there, it's exciting. It's exciting for the G League, and it brings eyeballs to our league. And we have one of the best leagues in the world. Maybe the third-best league in the world, after the NBA and EuroLeague. And it's really the future stars of the game. His story is bringing attention not just to South Bay but the league in general and for the guys who play in the league."

James will be with the Lakers on Sunday for their game against the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers will host the Raptors at Crypto.com Arena with tip-off at 6:30 PM PT.

The South Bay Lakers' next game is on Friday, on the road, against the Santa Cruz Warriors. After that, they will play on Sunday in El Segundo against the Stockon Kings.

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