Lakers News: Bronny James Earns Solid Review from Summer League Coach

Bronny finished the summer league strong.

Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James closed out his NBA summer league campaign with the two best games of his young professional career. The Lakers second-round pick recorded back-to-back double-digit point games as the Lakers earned consecutive wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the two wins, Bronny recorded 12 points against the Hawks and 13 points versus the Cavaliers, setting career-highs in consecutive games. These numbers were a huge step up from his first four summer league games when Bronny averaged 4.3 points per game.

His shooting accuracy improved in these games as well. Bronny shot 5-11 from the field and 2-5 on three-pointers against the Hawks, and 5-10 on field goals and 1-3 on threes, compared to when he hit 22.6% of his shots from the field. He also hit both of his free throw attempts.

“He had two pretty good games last two,” Lakers summer league coach Dane Johnson told reporters. “I think it’s just going to help him going into the summer so we can work on different things with him. Just that confidence and knowing he can play at this level. It’s still going to take a lot of time and a lot of reps.”

Bronny, along with rookie teammate Dalton Knecht, did not play in the Lakers' final summer league game on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls. Still, Bronny finished his summer debut on a positive note, particularly after the struggles during his first four games brought in the criticism he has seen since his inconsistency at USC.

The No. 55 overall pick is expected to further his development this season in the G-League with the South Bay Lakers.

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