ORLANDO, Fla. – A quarter-view of this weekend’s Bronny James Show is to say things could have been worse. But it certainly could have been better.
The NBA G League Winter Showcase was held this weekend in Orlando, Florida, and James immediately became a star attraction when the Los Angeles Lakers decided to assign him to the event, with both games broadcast nationally.
This is a 20-year-old rookie just three months into his professional basketball career, and I’ve certainly seen tragic performances from young prospects learning the hard way at this level. But on a court full of players whose NBA careers are measured in 10-day increments, James went unnoticed and at times struggled to keep up.
He got off to a hot start Thursday with 16 points and five assists in the first game, but struggled badly in the second game (6 points, 7 assists, 6 turnovers) and was plagued by some creepy ball-handling mistakes in both games. . Single-game plus-minus is very unreliable, but James lived up to the standard eye test Saturday, taking a minus-13 in a game his team won by 16.
Based on James’ other G League performance, these two games were not outliers. James garnered attention earlier this month when he scored 30 points in a G League game against the Valley Suns, but that was by far his best performance. In seven other games at this level, he shot just 24 of 76 with an incredible turnover rate.
No, we don’t put this level of scrutiny on other late second round picks. Many of them struggled significantly or worse during their first two G League seasons (*cough* Maxwell Lewis *cough*). At least three players drafted ahead of James have been clearly worse in the G League this season, and several others have not distinguished themselves as noticeably better players.
But if you Lakers fans are looking for something of interest, I probably don’t have much to give you just yet.
Let’s start with the positives. James showed some pick-and-roll survival on on-ball reps, especially when he was able to leave a strong dribble around the screen and initiate the move. He was comfortable getting to right-handed floaters that went that way and was cautious about snaking them back to his right hand to get to the rim or force a spin and hit the big man.
On catches and other transition situations, his hit-ahead passes were spot on and caused problems for opponents. James also showed off his two-footed leaping ability at times, including an impressive traffic rebound Saturday and a flying swat in transition.
Unfortunately, that didn’t offset the other areas where he was lacking. Typically, a player ready to contribute at the NBA level will dish up a G League defense pretty easily. This is especially true if you are an ambitious guard. James’ South Bay teammate Devonte’ Graham, for example, came off the couch Saturday and scored 24 points after being unsigned after spending the 2023-24 season in San Antonio.
That didn’t happen to James. He struggled to control his dribble at several points, which was a red flag for the undersized 6-foot-3 guard. In the second half on Saturday, he committed three turnovers trying to get the ball against pressure, missed a dribble, failed to clear the backcourt in eight seconds on another attempt, and went back into the backcourt on a third attempt. I went back. Asking him to play the point feels like a complete non-starter.
In the half court, he was able to work with screens, but isolation was a different story. James didn’t falter with his game, failed to sway defenders in one-on-one matchups after switching, and failed to establish himself as a legitimate 3-point threat on or off the ball. He made 2 of 8 attempts in Orlando and 7 of 33 attempts from distance during the G League season. Between that and his limited ability to get to the cup on his own, his true shooting percentage heading into Saturday was a surprisingly low 45.4.
Perhaps an equal concern is that James’ role at the NBA level will be that of a kinetic energy guy, but his motor doesn’t run as hot and seems to quit at several different points. James is a great athlete with a solid physique, but his activity level is so low that you don’t “feel” him during games. In particular, there were several moments where he backed off in transition rather than sprinting back to disrupt the opponent’s break. Without the ball, he wasn’t as active or as dexterous as you’d expect from a smaller guard.
It may be a related story, but fatigue seemed to be a real issue for him in both games. Especially after spending a few minutes on the court. It was only two games, but watching him here, it seemed like he started each game with a good two or three minutes on the court and then his glitch rate peaked shortly after.
Ultimately, the takeaway for many of us here to document his performance was to continue to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings. Because we’ll probably do the same thing again next year. The same can be said for many of the players here, especially late draft picks, but only one of them is the son of a legendary superstar.
(Bronny James Photo: Scott Audette / NBAE via Getty Images)
