Bronny James' NBA Summer League debut generates negative Lakers fans' buzz
07/06/2024 08:35 PM
Bronny James was in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers in their NBA Summer League opener against the Sacramento Kings.
It probably wasn’t the start he envisioned, as James wound up 2-for-9 for four points – missing all three of his 3s – with a pair of assists, two rebounds, and a steal in just under 22 minutes of court time as the Lakers lost 108-94 to the Kings – per StatMuse.
Lakers fans weren’t impressed.
SMH24 – “Literally got cooked by Adonis Arms”
Andrew Campbell – “Dont forget the James tradition of 0-2 at the free throw line too”
Ben – “They gave him $7.9m”
Saadiq – “Tbh I don't think anyone is surprised by this stat line”
BasketballAAL – “I hate that there is going to be a microscope on him the whole summer and rookie year and he won't get proper development without it”
The Baddy – “LeBron called his first bucket 'tough' It was a wide open layup.”
FC – “Will probably be his best game of the season ”
Vahe Baronian – “Right at his college averages”
Swann – “Trash. Lakers gave this bum $8M just because he's LeFlopper's son ”
Hudson – “55th pick for a reason. Should've 100% stayed in college”
Bronny James scores first Lakers bucket
James missed his initial two shots while playing nearly six minutes in his first stretch of action – snagging a defensive rebound early in the game, then missing a 21-foot jump shot moments later. He came up short on a 26-foot 3-point try at the 4:23 mark of the opening quarter before exiting the game for a breather.
Lakers fans cheered loudly for James when he returned to the action at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. He was initially whistled for his first career foul on a 3-point attempt by the Kings’ Xavier Sneed on the right side with 7:23 remaining. James argued the call briefly before the play went to replay review and was overturned. He then missed a 3-pointer off the front rim from the top of the arc at 7:04.
Then, finally, James scored his first NBA points on a driving layup 5:51 before halftime. He missed a pair of free throws at the 4:43 mark of the third period in his first trip to the line.
Bronny James scores his first bucket pic.twitter.com/dNW11Xry4Y
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 6, 2024
If Bronny didn’t light up the box score at USC, he likely won’t do it right away in the NBA summer league either. If he does have any role on this Lakers team, it is not going to be significant, so no one is expecting him to be putting up big numbers right now.
Transitioning from high school to college basketball is tough, and Bronny never seemed to fully finish that transition. Now, he is all of a sudden transitioning to playing for the Lakers as well. It’s all happening very fast, and growing pains are to be expected. James might struggle at first, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to turn things around.
The post Bronny James’ NBA Summer League debut generates negative Lakers fans’ buzz appeared first on ClutchPoints.
