Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James made his 2025-26 G League season debut with the South Bay Lakers on Friday night.
James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, put together an impressive performance during South Bay’s 115-95 win over the Santa Cruz Warriors. He scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, which included a 2-of-5 mark from three-point territory.
Bronny also recorded four rebounds and three steals while dishing out a team-high eight assists compared to just three turnovers.
Adou Thiero also made his presence felt in the lopsided win, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Thiero, who was selected by the Lakers with a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft, pulled down four rebounds and picked up three steals as well.
South Bay opened Friday’s matchup on a high note, taking a 50-33 lead in the second quarter. Santa Cruz was able to pull to within six points at halftime, but the Lakers put the game out of reach by outscoring the Warriors 33-16 in the third quarter.
As for James, he’s appeared in 10 regular-season contests with Los Angeles this year. He’s averaged 2.1 points in 11.1 minutes per game on 29.6/27.3/100 shooting splits, struggling to carve out a consistent role in a crowded Lakers backcourt rotation. James was assigned to the G League on Thursday.
The 2024 second-round pick previously spent time in the G League during his 2024-25 campaign and looked sharp when given extended minutes. James averaged 21.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals in 34.2 minutes per game with South Bay last season.
South Bay improved to 4-1 with Friday’s win and will now prepare for another battle with Santa Cruz on Sunday. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET.