Bronny James made his Los Angeles Lakers summer league debut Saturday, scoring four points on 2-for-9 shooting in a 108-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the opening game of the California Classic.
The No. 55 pick by the Lakers in last month's draft, James scored his first points on a drive midway through the second quarter and added a few other highlight plays in his 21 minutes on the court, including a steal that facilitated a fast-break bucket and 17-foot jumper after a step back. James added two assists and two rebounds.
What stood out most from James' debut and what can we expect during his next summer league appearance? Our NBA insiders are breaking down his performance and what it means moving forward this offseason.
Kendra Andrews: Quiet, and that's not a bad thing. There's only so much to take away from the first California Classic game. James and fellow rookie Dalton Knecht both struggled from the field — Knecht scored 12 points on 3-for-12 shooting — so that's something to monitor as summer league continues. It wasn't surprising that James didn't have a stellar debut, and it will be more important to see small improvements as his summer league continues.
Baxter Holmes: Uneventful, and that's more than fine. He'll need to acclimate to playing with and against fringe NBA players, and that's what summer league is for. His numbers won't mean much, and that's not unusual, either. In 2012, Memphis Grizzlies guard Josh Selby, a second-round pick in 2011, was named co-MVP of summer league after averaging 24.2 points in five games. He played just 38 games in his NBA career. In 2009, Warriors forward Anthony Randolph, the 13th overall pick in 2008, averaged 26.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In six NBA seasons, he
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