Bronny James reveals 'open' mindset with South Bay Lakers
02/07/2025 10:08 PM
LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the plan was always for him to spend most of his rookie season getting reps in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.
So far, Bronny James has appeared in 11 games for the South Bay Lakers during both the Showcase Cup portion of the schedule and the regular season.
During the Lakers' recent road trip, Bronny got his first meaningful NBA minutes in the team's 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He came in during the first quarter and drew an incredibly tough defensive assignment in Tyrese Maxey.
He may have struggled in those minutes, but since then, Bronny hit his first career NBA three-pointer and had another solid outing with South Bay. While in the G League, he has been able to play off-ball minutes as well while paired up with Quincy Olivari in the backcourt.
Following South Bay's most recent game on Monday, James spoke about how his off-ball game is developing so far.
"It's still a work in progress. Every day I'm just trying to get better," James said. "I'm just being open to new positions, new opportunities and just keep trying to get better every day."
Bronny James and Quincy Olivari as South Bay backcourt
While with South Bay, James' teammate in the backcourt is Quincy Olivari, his former Lakers teammate. Olivari earned a two-way contract with the Lakers following a strong preseason showing, but was cut last month after the team signed Trey Jemison.
Both Bronny James and Quincy Olivari are capable ball-handlers and playmakers and in the G League they've been able to play off one another and both get reps on moving without the ball.
Following South Bay's most recent game, Olivari spoke about sharing the backcourt with James.
"It's been a great dynamic. He draws so much attention with his ability to get downhill that it makes it easier for me to get a catch and shoot jump shot," Olivari said. "But it's also fun because he's so explosive and so athletic that his first step, it causes my defender to help, or people have to respect my jump shot so it causes my defender to play up higher."
"Playing off of that, and being able to exist and produce at a high level, it's fun to be out there and do," Olivari continued.
While Olivari will be with South Bay full-time for the foreseeable future, James has been shuffling back and forth between the G League and the Lakers. He recently played against the Clippers on Tuesday, a day after playing with South Bay. And he was in uniform against the Golden State Warriors, right be for being reassigned to the G League.
But no matter what, he approaches both opportunities the same. Whether it's the NBA or the G League, he's looks at it the same way.
"I feel like it would be the same. I'm gonna come out and give the same effort in every game," James said. "So it doesn't matter whether I'm in the G League or with the Lakers, it's the same thing."
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