Bronny James is headed to the G League, but he won’t be far from home.
The Lakers have assigned the 20-year-old rookie guard — son of teammate and NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James — to the South Bay Lakers, where the current plan is for him to play in the G League affiliate’s home games, a person with knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment.
The Lakers are under no obligation to play Bronny James in the G League and are free to develop him as they please, given that the team signed him in July to a standard player contract. Two-way contracts, by comparison, mandate that a player spend a chunk of the season with his team’s G League affiliate, capping NBA game service at 50 games per season.
Bronny has the unique circumstance of being surrounded by an experienced team — his father, a 22-year veteran; long-time agent Rich Paul; Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, the former agent of Kobe Bryant; and coach JJ Reddick, a former player with a 15-year career — who can tailor a development program to fit Bronny’s needs.
It is also not uncommon for other NBA players whose G League affiliates play near the home markets of their NBA teams to play primarily in G League home games.
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The Lakers selected Bronny James No. 55 overall in the 2024 NBA draft in June. His contract is fully guaranteed for four years and $7.9 million, according to ESPN.
Bronny was with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night as the team hosted the Memphis Grizzlies, though he did not enter the game. He witnessed his father drop 35 points, 14-assists and 12 rebounds, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double. For LeBron, who turns 40 on December 30, it was his third consecutive triple-double.
The Lakers will travel to face the San Antonio Spurs on Friday as part of the NBA Cup. The South Bay Lakers play their next home game Sunday against the Stockton Kings.
The South Bay Lakers play their games at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California, which is about 15 miles from the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, where the Lakers play.
“I haven’t been with the team as much as I can to figure out what my role is on that team,” Bronny James said of the South Bay squad after the game. “So I’m just going out and playing my game and just hooping.”
Bronny has also appeared in six NBA games with the Lakers, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting over 16 minutes, adding two assists and one rebound.
South Bay Lakers upcoming schedule
The South Bay Lakers will play seven games in the rest of November.
Friday, Nov. 15 at 10:00 p.m.: at the Santa Cruz Warriors; Santa Cruz, CA
Sunday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 p.m.: versus the Stockton Kings; El Segundo, CA
Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 10:00 p.m.: at the San Diego Clippers; Oceanside, CA
Sunday, Nov. 24 at 8:00 p.m.: versus the Stockton Kings; El Segundo, CA
Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 10:00 p.m.: versus the San Diego Clippers; El Segundo, CA
Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 10:00 p.m.: versus the Rip City Remix; El Segundo, CA
Saturday, Nov. 30 at 10:00 p.m.: at the Santa Cruz Warriors; Santa Cruz, CA
*All times eastern