As if it were possible, Bronny James is going to have even more eyeballs on him later this week. ESPN’s Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin reported Tuesday that the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft will participate in the G League Winter Showcase from Dec. 19-22 in Orlando, Florida.
After struggling for playing time with the parent club, James committed to playing on the road for the South Bay Lakers and has averaged 20.7 points, three rebounds, and two assists over the last three games.
The showcase is considered one of the G League’s marquee events as front office executives and scouts from all 30 teams attend the event to witness the talent on display. South Bay’s first game of the showcase will be against the Greensboro Swarm on Thursday.
During a lighter portion of the NBA schedule recently, LeBron James watched Bronny’s games while resting and recuperating from various ailments and noticed the rhythm his son seems to be finding on the court.
“Just keep stacking the days, keep putting in the work,” LeBron said. “The work always prevails at the end of the day. It’s just great to see him getting back into the flow, getting back to his game, getting back to him just playing free, and going out and just playing the game that he loves and knows how to play. I loved his aggressiveness.”
Bronny dropped a G League career-high 30 points against the Valley Suns on Dec. 12, doing so on 13-of-23 shooting in 25 minutes. He wasn’t anywhere as impactful the following day against the same opponent, scoring 16 points on a woeful 6-of-20 from the field.
This decision to play in the showcase is a far cry from how the season started, with reports emerging that Bronny would only be playing in South Bay’s home games.
Through five G League games, Bronny is averaging 14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He’s made appearances in seven NBA games for the Los Angeles Lakers and scored four points 1-of-8 shooting, but hasn’t played since a 107-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 8.
The Lakers return to the floor Thursday against the Sacramento Kings.
