Pacers G Kyle Mangas breaks down his experience as Bronny James teammate with Los Angeles Lakers

Mangas and James played together once

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) competes against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana Pacers/Mad Ants wing Kyle Mangas, who re-signed with the Pacers earlier this week, played his summer league basketball with Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers in July.

The Indiana native only played in one game before suffering an ankle injury, posting six points and three rebounds during his lone outing. The 25-year old returned to the NBA orbit last season after a few years overseas.

"[It] was still a super neat experience, you know. Practicing in front of LeBron [James] and just things like that," Mangas said on the Locked On Pacers podcast of playing for the Lakers. "Meeting JJ Redick, Rob Pelinka, all those guys. [It was] super cool."

Last year, Mangas was primarily with the Indiana Mad Ants. He appeared in 51 games for the club, which is the G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, and averaged 16.9 points per game. It was his first season back in the United States after playing in the Czech Republic and Lithuania.

Instead of joining Indiana during summer league, Mangas opted to join the Lakers, who had Bronny James on the roster. The young guard, who is the son of NBA legend LeBron James, has received a ton of attention since being drafted in late June, including commentary from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.

Mangas thought that the younger James handled the attention well. The two played together just once, and they fell to the Sacramento Kings. Bronny James had four points, two rebounds, and two assists in that outing.

"He's a super nice guy, he's quiet, he's pretty laid back. He's a hard worker," Mangas said of the 19-year old during the podcast appearance. They overlapped on the court for just over three minutes in their lone appearance together, and the Lakers lost that stretch by two points.

"There's so much media surrounding him. We would get off the bus at our hotel, and there'd be 250 people waiting for him to get off just to film and walk into the hotel," Mangas recalled of the experience being Bronny's teammate. "You've got to feel for a kid like that, there's just a lot of pressure and publicity, and that's hard to get away from sometimes. [I] think he handled it pretty well from what I saw."

The Lakers first summer league duel in Las Vegas was against the Houston Rockets, and the arena was packed to watch James and company hit the hardwood — and the Rockets squad had young players with intrigue, too. Mangas remembered walking on to the floor thinking the atmosphere was remarkable and electric.

The Indiana native didn't play that night after his ankle injury. "For a summer league game, it was on fire," Mangas recalled. The Rockets beat the Lakers by 19, and Bronny James finished with eight points and five rebounds.

The entire podcast interview featuring Mangas can be found here.

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