Bronny James Availability Revealed for South Bay Lakers in G League Showcase

Will the rookie point guard stay in Los Angeles or head to Orlando this week?

Dec 8, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) handles the ball in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Bronny James has enjoyed a stellar recent run with L.A.'s G League affiliate in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers. He's been so good, in fact, that the Lakers will continue to disregard their stated intention of only playing him with South Bay during home games when he suits up for the Purple and Gold in this week's Orlando-based G League Showcase, sources inform Marc Stein. The 6-foot-2 former USC Trojan will play at least two games in front of representative personnel from all 30 NBA clubs.

Per Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, both Lakers management and James' representation at Klutch Sports agree that G League Showcase reps will be the best way for the 20-year-old to grow.

Across his last three contests with South Bay, James is averaging a fairly respectable 20.7 points while shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 26.3 percent from long range, along with 3.0 boards and 2.0 dimes a night.

"Just keep stacking the days, keep putting in the work," Bronny's father, 20-time All-NBA Lakers power forward LeBron James, said of his son. "The work always prevails at the end of the day. It's just great to see him getting back into the flow, getting back to his game, getting back to him just playing free and going out and just playing the game that he loves and knows how to play. I loved his aggressiveness."

South Bay's first G League Showcase tilt is slated for Thursday, when the team will play Charlotte Hornets G League squad the Greensboro Swarm.

James has played sparingly for the Lakers proper. The Sierra Canyon product has appeared in just seven games with Los Angeles, averaging 2.6 minutes per. He's logged 0.6 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.1 steals and 0.1 blocks a night.

Overall, the first-year guard is logging solid-if-inefficient numbers for South Bay. In five games with the G League affiliate, he's averaging 14.4 points while slashing .377/.200/.667, plus 2.8 boards, 2.4 dimes, 0.8 swipes and 0.8 rejections a night.

In Tip-Off Tournament contests, South Bay has gone 4-10 this year. The club's regular season proper begins after the Showcase. Los Angeles, meanwhile, is 14-12 on the year, and has slid into the Western Conference's No. 10 seed, just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 12-seeded Sacramento Kings (13-14).

More Ball Around: Jayson Tatum's Agent Reacts to Magic Johnson Claim He Rejected Lakers Pre-Draft Workout