Bronny James played his first game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday afternoon.
Bronny was selected by the Lakers with the 55th pick in last month’s NBA Draft, making him the first player to be drafted while his father is still an active player.
While his father may be in Las Vegas with the US Olympic team, Bronny didn’t hesitate to don the iconic yellow and purple jersey for the Lakers’ Summer League game against the Sacramento Kings in San Francisco.
Bronny wore oversized headphones and looked so much like his famous father during warmups that some people in the Chase Center had to stare.
James missed his first two shots after playing six minutes in his first series of action. He grabbed a defensive rebound in the first minute and 20 seconds of the game, but missed a 21-foot jump shot moments later.
Bronny James played his first game for the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday afternoon
He played in the Lakers’ Summer League game against the Sacramento Kings in San Francisco
He came up short with a 26-foot 3-pointer at 4:23 of the first quarter, after which he had a breather.
If all goes according to plan, the 19-year-old and his father will become the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time, and on the same team.
Bronny is the eldest son of NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron. He survived cardiac arrest on July 24 during an informal team practice at USC and was later diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
The younger James signed a four-year contract that will pay him $7.9 million.
“It definitely added pressure,” Bronny said last week when he was officially introduced by the Lakers.
‘I’ve already seen it on (social) media and on the internet, where it was said that maybe I don’t deserve a chance at all.
“But I’ve been dealing with this kind of stuff my whole life. It’s no different. It’s definitely amplified, but I can get through it.”
More to follow.
