Bronny James knows the route between El Segundo and Los Angeles well.
The son of superstar LeBron James has been assigned to the Lakers' NBA G League affiliate and will play his first game in the South Bay against Salt Lake City on Saturday. ESPN reported.
This is part of a planned shuffle between the NBA and G League for rookies as the Lakers manage their development this season.
The plan is for James to play Friday night against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena and then return to the South Bay roster.
According to ESPN, the Lakers plan to manage playing time at both the NBA and G League levels, and James plans to only appear in home games in the South Bay.
“The plan was always for Bronny to move between the Lakers and the South Bay from day one. [General manager] rob [Pelinka] And I talked about it. LeBron talked about it,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters on Oct. 25.
James was selected 55th overall by Los Angeles in June's draft, drawing some criticism for the perception that the Lakers selected him to appease LeBron.
After a disappointing preseason, James was on the Lakers' roster at the start of the season, appearing in four of Los Angeles' first eight games.
James played a total of 13 minutes and scored four points.
“His job, like all of us, is to strive and get better and better. And we want to hold him accountable, and he will hold us accountable. And we all want to hold him accountable. If we do that, we'll be better because we're all one team. We reflect the South Bay. The South Bay reflects us,” LeBron said of Bronny in September. spoke.
