Lakers News: Bronny James Posts Another Huge Night vs Valley Suns
Rookie Los Angeles Lakers point guard Bronny James has found himself on a bit of a scoring tear lately — albeit not with the Lakers.
Across his last two contests with L.A.'s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, the 6-foot-2 former USC Trojan is averaging an impressive 23 points, 2.5 rebounds, two assists, and 0.5 blocks a night. Both those bouts took place, on back-to-back nights, on the road against the Valley Suns — the Phoenix Suns' NBAGL affiliate squad.
On Friday night, in a 102-91 defeat to the Valley Suns, Bronny James nabbed 16 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the floor (2-of-6 from deep) and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, grabbed two boards, dished out a pair of dimes, and swiped one steal in 26 minutes of action. He posted a -7 plus-minus.
New addition Devonte' Graham, a six-year NBA point guard whom South Bay only officially signed on Friday, nabbed the start in the backcourt next to James. In 37 minutes, the 29-year-old vet scored a South Bay-most 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field (5-of-12 from long range) and 1-of-1 shooting from the charity stripe, passed for six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and nabbed one steal.
Read More: Veteran NBA Point Guard Devonte' Graham Signing with South Bay Squad
Bronny James' solid (albeit inefficient) scoring night arrives on the heels of a 30-point outburst, on 13-of-23 shooting, against the Valley Suns in a 106-100 Thursday defeat. That sum represents a career high for the 20-year-old, son of 20-time All-NBA superstar Lakers power forward LeBron James.
Read More: Bronny James Goes Off in G League Road Debut
Los Angeles has been striving to figure out how best to develop the younger James during his debut pro season. Initially, the club had intended to only play Bronny James with its G League affiliate during South Bay's El Segundo home games. But these two bouts against the Valley Suns were on the road.
It remains unclear whether or not the South Bay Lakers intend to employ Bronny James in next week's impending G League Showcase, which will run from December 19-22. He has been showing a new willingness to at least try to get his scoring cooking. It would behoove South Bay to explore using him — especially since he's not a part of J.J. Redick's rotation for L.A. proper.
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