bronnie james played my first nba preseason game Friday night, but Lebron James When I wasn’t in uniform with him lakers Los Angeles hosted Minnesota in the first of two weekend games at the Coachella Valley.
Lakers coach JJ Redick elected to remain out Lebron James against timberwolves That’s after a grueling three days of training camp, but the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history is expected to play against Phoenix on Sunday – which would have been Bronny’s 20th birthday.
Bronny James finished with two points in the Lakers’ 124–107 loss to the Timberwolves, missing his first five shots before making a layup with 56.9 seconds to play. But the 6-foot-2 guard also blocked three shots, and he had one rebound and one assist while playing the first half of the second quarter and most of the fourth.
before becoming first father and son To play in the same NBA game, Bronny James knows he has a lot of work to do. He got his first chance to play in Lakers gold when he took the field to start the second quarter at Acrisure Arena outside Palm Springs.
Playing alongside starting Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, Brown was tripped up on a pick on his first defensive possession, allowing Rob Dillingham to hit an open 3-pointer. After this, Bronny’s pass was stopped Nichelle Alexander-Walker At the other end, but Bronny got back and had his layup attempt blocked.
Bronny missed all three of his shots during his first six minutes of action, including a 3-pointer. He got the assist when he found Rui Hachimura for a 3-pointer from the corner on a fast break.
Bronny returned early in the fourth quarter, missed a jumper and had a layup attempt blocked. In the final minute, he received a pass from fellow rookie Dalton Knecht and looped it over a defender for his first points.
LeBron appeared to carefully keep his distance from Bronny during the game, giving his eldest son a chance to focus on his work. But LeBron spoke at length to Brony during halftime of the second quarter, explaining something with hand gestures while Brony nodded.
bronnie james was Lakers’ second-round draft pickAnd he played in the summer league in Las Vegas. He is expected to play for the Lakers in the preseason before spending a significant portion of the upcoming regular season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers.
“Obviously there’s nerves,” Bronny said after the Lakers’ pregame shootaround. “But I’m excited to go out there and learn from the guys playing before me, and if I get a chance to show what I can do, I’m going to do that.”
As is common for inactive players, LeBron largely stayed away from the Lakers’ group. He stood on the perimeter during most of the timeouts with Anthony Davis, who also sat out the preseason opener. Both the superstars are in training camp in El Segundo.
“We felt like given everything he’s had this summer, and his level of participation over the last three days, it would be most appropriate for him to take today off,” Redick said. “In the shootaround we told them to stay off their feet.”
Reddick said this on Thursday LeBron James and Davis both Will play at least one game this weekend. Max Christie and Jackson Hayes started in place of superstars alongside Russell, Hachimura and Austin Reaves against Minnesota.
Friday’s crowd did not disappoint as they flocked to the 22-month-old arena that is home to the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. Hundreds of fans in gold Lakers jerseys representing everyone from James to George Mikan descended the stairs into the building and into the lower bowl to get a closer look at pregame warmups.
“The beautiful thing about the Lakers is that we have fans all over the world,” Redick said. “I think the desert here is in some ways an extension of our fan base in L.A. It’s a great opportunity for our group to play in front of these fans tonight.”
James and Davis sit out the Lakers’ first of six preseason games As they ease back into competition After a busy summer. He joined the Lakers before the game in street clothes.
LeBron and Davis were both on the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the Paris Olympics, and they walked to midcourt just before tipoff to greet their Olympic teammate Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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