Bronny James makes his G League debut on Saturday: how to watch, what time it is, what to expect from him
After recently making his NBA debut, Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers will play in his first G League game on Saturday to further his development.
James will play for the South Bay Lakers at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California, which is also the Los Angeles Lakers’ training facility. Los Angeles plans for James to rotate between the official Lakers roster and the South Bay roster during the season.
On Saturday, James and South Bay will host the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, at 5:00 PM PT. Tickets for the game are sold out, South Bay announced Friday morning.
The game can be streamed locally on Tubi and Spectrum SportsNet, as well as on YouTube in Canada and Mexico.
James, the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, made his debut on Oct. 22 in Los Angeles, where he and his father, LeBron, shared the court as the first father-son duo in league history to play together. In James’ second NBA appearance, on Oct. 30 in Cleveland, he scored his first basket after the hometown crowd chanted his name and cheered as he entered the game.
How to watch
When: Saturday, 5pm PT
Where: UCLA Health Training Center
Watch: The game will be streamed locally on Tubi and Spectrum SportsNet and on YouTube in Canada and Mexico.
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How does Bronny deal with this moment?
Just like on opening night of the NBA, all eyes will be on James on Saturday. Nothing got Lakers fans more excited about games — last summer or this regular season — than him playing.
Saturday’s match was sold out more than 24 hours in advance. Resale tickets start at $200. It promises to be a raucous environment – at least by G League standards. Bronny and LeBron have said the 20-year-old is used to the pressure by now, but this will be the most he’s played in a game since Summer League and relatively higher stakes. — Jovan Buha, Lakers beat writer
What is his attacking role?
The Lakers implement the same systems and principles with their NBA and G League teams, so this will be the first look at how Los Angeles plans to utilize James offensively in competitive minutes. He projects more as a spot-up threat and secondary ballhandler, but he has run more pick-and-rolls and off-the-dribble jumpers in his time in the NBA.
With a clearer hierarchy – he has played largely in garbage time, which can often veer into freestyle basketball – James’ usage and role will be telling. — Buha
Required reading
(Photo: Jonathan Hui / Imagn Images)
