Bronny James has been assigned to the G League’s South Bay Lakers, the team announced Thursday. James will play in their season opener against the Salt Lake City Stars on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
It was previously reported that the end of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ early-season road trip would mark the beginning of James’ seasonlong shuffle between the G League and the NBA. That five-game trip ended Wednesday with a 131-114 loss in Memphis.
James will be recalled from South Bay before Los Angeles hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. He will then rejoin South Bay for the game against Salt Lake City, per ESPN. After that, he will presumably be back on Los Angeles’ bench when it hosts the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
As of now, James is only expected to play for South Bay when it’s at home, according to ESPN. A couple of weeks ago, though, Los Angeles coach JJ Redick told reporters that “our plans are always fluid based on real time.”
If James’ development program includes frequent practices with South Bay, then there could be a steady stream of assignments and recalls in the next week and a half. South Bay doesn’t have any games between Saturday’s opener and the following Friday’s road game against the Santa Cruz Warriors. Los Angeles hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, and then it has a back-to-back on the road against the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans next weekend. In theory, after South Bay’s opener and Los Angeles’ game against Toronto, James could practice with South Bay, return to Los Angeles for the Grizzlies game, practice with South Bay again, hit the road with Los Angeles, then play for South Bay at home against the Stockton Kings on Nov. 17.
James, 20, has played a total of 13 minutes in four NBA games. He made his debut in Los Angeles’ season opener, checking into the game alongside his father, and he scored his first regular-season points as a pro in Cleveland last week. He was the No. 55 pick in the 2024 draft.
