As we all know, the 2024 NBA Draft is considered a small year. Among the rookies of this draft class, neither the top pick Lissache, the second pick Sal, nor the third pick Shepherd stand out significantly in terms of strength or influence. The most anticipated rookie of this draft, however, is Bronny James, who was selected by the Lakers at the 55th position. Of course, the main reason for this is that Bronny is the son of LeBron James. Under his father's halo, Bronny has become the traffic driver of this draft class.
After joining the Lakers, Bronny received some opportunities to perform in the regular season, and the Lakers also provided them with the opportunity to play together on stage. However, in terms of personal competitive level, Bronny did not perform very well, as he was still somewhat distant from the rhythm of the NBA. Therefore, the Lakers chose to send him down to the South Bay Lakers of the Development League to find his rhythm and improve his level there. In the Development League, Bronny has been steadily making progress step by step.
In recent days, Bronny's performance has been increasingly outstanding. Over the past two days, Bronny faced his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, twice. He had excellent performances in both games. In yesterday's game, the South Bay Lakers lost 113-125 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although Bronny's shooting touch was average in this game, he showed positive energy on both offense and defense. He started and played for 33 minutes and 10 seconds, shooting 6 of 17, including 3 of 8 from three-point range, scoring 15 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 6 assists, and making 3 steals, with a plus-minus value of +1.
Today, Bronny played even better. On December 29th, Beijing time, the South Bay Lakers narrowly lost 90-93 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this game against his hometown team, Bronny unleashed his full potential. Throughout the game, Bronny shot 7 of 14, made 3 of 5 three-pointers, and went 3 of 4 from the free-throw line (in the G League, an offensive foul results in only one free throw, counted as 2 or 3 points), scoring 23 points, grabbing 9 rebounds (3 offensive), and dishing out 5 assists, with a plus-minus value of +3. Unfortunately, in the final moments of the game, the Cavaliers made a comeback. After Bronny's teammate Graham committed a foul and received two technical fouls, the Cavaliers took a 3-point lead plus possession of the ball, effectively ending the game. Graham shot 1 of 6 in this game.
Back-to-back, Bronny scored a total of 38 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists, hitting 6 three-pointers in two games, which is undoubtedly an impressive performance.
In this game, whether it was outside shooting, inside breakthroughs, or organizing and connecting plays, Bronny performed with great skill. His three-point shooting accuracy was extremely high, and his various dunks and alley-oop dunks were breathtaking, reminiscent of his father LeBron James' style. It can be seen that Bronny is gradually adapting to the rhythm of the Development League, and he is becoming better and better. As long as he can maintain this rate of progress, he will have the opportunity to return to the Los Angeles Lakers and realize his dream of staying in the NBA soon.
We hope that Bronny can continue to work hard and play better!