Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I don’t think it was outlandish for Hal Steinbrenner to say he thinks the Yankees are better than they were last year, even without Juan Soto.
In today’s SI:AM:
🧠 Most memorable games in NFL history
👍 Commanders’ first big win of the offseason
🏀 Griner on the move
This isn’t the G-League
Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James received the first significant playing time of his NBA career on Tuesday—and it didn’t go well.
James, the No. 55 pick in the most recent NBA draft, has shuttled between the Lakers and their G-League affiliate this season, seeing only minimal and infrequent playing time with the big club. Tuesday night’s game on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers was James’s 13th NBA appearance. The previous 12 had been entirely unremarkable. Aside from a brief, largely ceremonial second-quarter cameo in the season opener in which he and LeBron James became the first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court, every one of Bronny’s NBA appearances had come in the fourth quarter of a blowout. He scored four total points (0.3 per game) and never played more than five minutes.
Then came Tuesday. The Lakers recalled James from the G-League on Monday and coach JJ Redick inserted him into his rotation for the game against the Sixers. It didn’t go well. James played a little more than 15 minutes and did not score a point, going 0-for-5 from the floor (0-for-3 from three). He had one assist, turned the ball over three times and was repeatedly cooked on the defensive end by Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, who went off for 43 points, two shy of a season high, as the Sixers won 118–104 to snap the Lakers’ four-game winning streak.
It was a rough night overall for the Lakers, who lost Anthony Davis in the first quarter to what the team is calling an abdominal strain. Gabe Vincent, the team’s backup point guard, missed his second straight game with a left knee injury, necessitating Bronny’s addition to the rotation.
Redick decided to give Vincent’s minutes to James, rather than veteran Shake Milton, who saw his most extensive playing time with the Lakers the previous night against the Charlotte Hornets. But Redick conceded that it probably wasn’t the right call to feature James so heavily.
“Maybe [I] put him in a tough spot,” Redick told reporters. “Flying up yesterday, nationally televised game in Philly and all that stuff. He didn’t play well, but he’s been playing great in the stay-ready games, and he’s been playing great in the G [League].”
James has been playing well for the Lakers’ G-League affiliate. He had 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting in a game on Friday, but the Sixers are a big step up from the Rip City Remix, and that gap was evident in how Bronny struggled on Tuesday. Still, LeBron saw some promise in Bronny’s first big NBA opportunity.
“He was able to get behind the defense on one and find Jaxson [Hayes] for a dunk. That was good,” the elder James said. “Obviously missed his shots. It’s just about him just getting more and more comfortable. It’s his first extensive minutes with us.
“We had that first game where it was just a moment, and it was a great moment, but tonight was his first opportunity to be with the big guys, the big club. He’s going to continue to use that to get better and better, just like the first time he played with the G League.”
You might be able to chalk up some of Bronny’s struggles on Tuesday to nerves and inexperience—things like a pair of missed open three-pointers, having his shot blocked after driving into a crowd of defenders and forcing ill-advised passes after leaving his feet. Those are the kinds of mistakes that 20-year-old second-round picks make. He’s also just 13 months removed from his return to competitive basketball after his July 2023 cardiac arrest. But because his name is LeBron James Jr., he faces way more scrutiny than any other player ever taken with one of the last five picks of the draft. His name also comes with benefits, though. He has the greatest player in NBA history as a father to lean on for advice and a high-powered agent, Rich Paul, who can lobby the Lakers to put Bronny on the development plan best suited for his needs.
There were moments on Tuesday where Bronny showed his potential. He’s an unselfish player and a quality athlete with great quickness. Over time, he may very well develop into an NBA-caliber player. He just wasn’t one on Tuesday.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Here is the second half of Matt Verderame’s countdown of the most memorable games in NFL history.
- Albert Breer’s weekly notes column leads with the importance of the Commanders keeping Kliff Kingsbury for a second year as offensive coordinator.
- Gilberto Manzano looks at why Liam Coen’s messy decision to take the Jaguars job was still the right call.
- Brittney Griner is leaving the Mercury for the Atlanta Dream after 11 seasons in Phoenix.
- The Mercury made another big move Tuesday, acquiring Alyssa Thomas from the Sun.
- A wild scene unfolded in the Atlantic 10 on Tuesday night as a giant brawl between fans delayed the game between VCU and Saint Louis.
- The NBA announced the rosters for this year’s Rising Stars game.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Bronny James Struggles in First Meaningful Lakers Playing Time.
