Lakers Recall Bronny James Ahead of Game Against Raptors

Ricardo Sandoval | Nov 10, 2024

Nov 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (0) and guard Bronny James (9) during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to play their 10th game of the season on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors. 

The Lakers will look to improve to a 6-4 record, and they'll do so with Bronny James back on the team. 

James, guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, and forward Maxwell Lewis have been recalled from the Lakers' G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

Lakers announce that they’ve recalled Bronny James, Maxwell Lewis and Jalen Hood-Schifino from South Bay for tonight’s game against the Raptors.

— David Mendez-Yapkowitz (@Dave_Yapkowitz) November 10, 2024

James is coming off his first contest with the South Bay Lakers on Saturday, where he 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 told The Athletic's Jovan Buha how he felt getting extensive playing time in his G League debut. 

“It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game,” James said. “Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good.”

The 20-year-old looked a lot more comfortable with the ball in his hands than he did in Summer League earlier in the year with the Lakers. 

South Bay Lakers head coach  Zach Guthrie also loved what he saw from the No. 55 overall pick. 

“I think he did a great job dictating on the ball,” Guthrie said. “He got the first bucket of the game. I drew up the first play for him, but we didn’t get to run it because they won the tip. … He played great, he played unselfishly, he played within the flow of the game.”

James has appeared in five of the Lakers' nine games this season and is averaging 0.8 points (on 16.7-0.0-100.0 shooting splits), 0.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 0.2 steals in 2.8 minutes per game. The majority of his playing time has come in garbage time outside of his first-ever minutes in the NBA, which came on opening night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

The other Lakers being called back up is second-year guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. He also played in Saturday's South Bay Lakers opener, in which he recorded eight points (3-7 FG, 2-6 3Pt), one assist, and one rebound in 13 minutes. 

Although he is returning to the Lakers roster, barring a blowout, Hood-Schifino and James, as well, likely won't see the court. 

The last Laker being called up is forward Maxwell Lewis. Lewis also played, and he was stellar. He tallied  27 points (10-18 FG, 5-8 3Pt, 1-1 FT), five rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes during the 110-96 win over the Salt Lake City Stars.

The Lakers will tip off against the Raptors at 6:30 PM PT. 

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