Lakers' Bronny James makes G League debut; 'excited' to play - ESPN

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Ever since Bronny James was selected No. 55 by the Los Angeles Lakers back in June, the organization planned for Saturday's start to the South Bay Lakers' season.

While South Bay's 110-96 win over the Salt Lake City Stars at the franchise's practice facility couldn't match the aura of NBA opening night at Crypto.com Arena, the time the 20-year-old guard spends getting reps in the G League will arguably be more crucial to his development.

It took James just 43 seconds for him to score his first G League points — canning a 17-foot jumper along the baseline.

«I was just getting a bucket,» Bronny said after the game. «It got to me and I just… yeah. I didn't miss.»

He finished with 6 points on 2-for-9 shooting (0-for-4 from 3), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 5 turnovers in 31 minutes — loosely mirroring his production as a freshman at USC (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists) and during the Lakers' preseason (4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists).

Lakers two-way guard Quincy Olivari, who led South Bay with 28 points and assisted on Bronny's first basket, credited the rookie's performance, despite the relatively pedestrian statistical line.

«I was just happy to see him get out there and show the world that he can play,» Olivari said. «I think I'm a big advocate on pushing that he's a great basketball player, and that the criticism he gets is unfair.»

South Bay coach Zach Guthrie, hired in the offseason to replace Dane Johnson, pointed to Bronny's defense as a bright spot.

«I think he did a great job dictating on the ball,» Guthrie said. «He played great, he played unselfishly, he played within the flow of the game. And I thought, like all our guards, we defended at a high level. We