The Big Lead

Bronny James draws 'unanimous' G League Showcase review

By Joe Lago

Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) warms up before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) warms up before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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The reviews are in for Bronny James' performance at the G League Showcase, and the consensus takeaway from his two games in Orlando is that the 20-year-old guard is better off developing in the NBA's minor league instead of sitting on the Los Angeles Lakers' bench.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, scouts who watched James play the South Bay Lakers' games against the Greensboro Swarm and Osceola Magic agree that the 2024 55th overall pick would benefit from playing more games in the NBA's minor league.

RELATED: Bronny James adds more games to growing G League schedule

“The unanimous view I heard from watching scouts at the Showcase is that James needs as much time as he can get in the G League to improve all aspects of his point guard play, from his floor game to (especially) his ability to make shots," Stein wrote in The Stein Line.

Stein also reported that the Lakers have called up James for Monday's home game against the Detroit Pistons.

James averaged 11.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.5 blocks to help the South Bay Lakers go 1-1 at the G League Showcase, but he struggled with his shooting and decision-making on both ends of the floor. He shot 36.4% from the floor (8 for 22) and 25% on 3-pointers (2 for 8), committed six turnovers in each game and was a combined minus-19.

The Athletic's John Hollinger came to the same conclusion about James as the scouts who spoke to Stein.

While the former Memphis Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations saw some positives, Hollinger generally felt the 6-foot-3 guard "didn’t offset the other areas in which he fell short," pointing out that James "struggled to control his dribble" and "hasn’t established himself as a legitimate 3-point threat." As for James' defense, Hollinger thought he "wasn’t nearly as active or handsy as you would hope for a small guard."

Of course, all of this scrutiny is being paid to a second-round pick because of who James' dad is and how quickly he reached the NBA.

James played just one season of college basketball at USC, mostly as a reserve, and after making history with LeBron James as the NBA's first-ever father/son duo, Bronny's development was always going to be in the spotlight and intensely scrutinized.

Expanding his G League schedule to away games was a welcome development. But after a spotty G League Showcase, the consensus believes Bronny James spending more time with the South Bay Lakers should be more of the norm, not the exception.

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