Bronny James made his long-awaited return from injury in the South Bay Lakers’ 119-111 win over the San Diego Clippers at UCLA Health Training Center on Saturday. James finished with a career-high 16 points (6-15 FG) to go with four rebounds, two assists, and one block on the night, and fans had some interesting reactions to his performance.
“Demon is slowly waking up,” one wrote James is slowly showing what he’s capable of.
“50% from 2pt range. Decent numbers! It’s coming together,” one fan thought James is starting to put it all together.
“One step at a time. Rome was not built in one day,” one fan preached patience.
“0/4 from 3pt? Like father like son,” one fan roasted James for shooting poorly from three like his father LeBron James.
“Needs to work on the 3pt shot other than that solid game,” one fan thought James played well but needs to work on his outside shot.
James had last played in a game on Nov. 17 against the Stockton Kings in the G League. The 20-year-old had been out with a left knee contusion since, so considering this outing against the Clippers was his first in three weeks, I’d say he played well. You can check out some highlights below.
Bronny James Career High Highlights vs Clippers:
16 PTS
6-15 FG (40%)
4 REB
2 AST
1 BLK
+8 +/-
Bronny played his first game in about 2 weeks after picking up an injury and looked really engaged. Being with the first team he must have picked up a lot of things from JJ Redick and… pic.twitter.com/JlvltKvwxn
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) December 8, 2024
It’s good to see James attack the basket in that manner. He needs to do that more often, especially as the outside shot just isn’t falling. James went 0-4 from three against the Clippers and is now 0-10 for the season. It’s clear at this point that the former USC guard is not a good long-range shooter and he needs to play to his strengths.
James had 10 points in the first half alone against the Clippers (as many as he had in his first two games in the G League this season), helping the Lakers overturn an early deficit and get back in the contest. They then seized control in the third quarter and didn’t look back, improving to 4-8 on the season.
The South Bay Lakers take on the Valley Suns next at Mullett Arena on Thursday, but it’s unlikely James will feature in that contest, as he is only playing in home games in the G League. The Los Angeles Lakers have been heavily criticized for not having the rookie play on the road, but it doesn’t look like the plan will change anytime soon.
So, James might be in action next when the Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 9:30 PM ET.
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