Bronny James Assigned to Lakers' G League Team, Coach Says It's 'Been the Plan Since Day 1'

Bronny — who is slated to play only home games for the team — will make his debut on Saturday, Nov. 9

LeBron James #23 and Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers on defense during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on October 22, 2024 in Los Angeles, California
From Left: LeBron James and Bronny James on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo:

Harry How/Getty 

After just a handful of NBA games, Bronny James has been assigned to G League, where he will play for the South Bay Lakers.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Lakers franchise announced that the rookie son of NBA star LeBron James will join the South Bay roster, the team confirmed on X (formerly Twitter). Bronny, 20, is set to make his debut on Saturday, during South Bay's first game against the Salt Lake City Stars at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif.

According to ESPN, the player is slated to only play home games for the team "as he shuttles between the Lakers and South Bay." The outlet added that he will still be on the roster for the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

 Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball scoring his first career points during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 30, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
Bronny James on Oct. 30, 2024.

Lauren Leigh Bacho/NBAE via Getty

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According to the Associated Press, the decision to move Bronny to the G League has been in the works from the beginning of the player's time with the NBA. “The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one. Rob and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said in October.

While Bronny is set to divide his time between the two teams, Redick said "those plans could change," the AP reported, with the coach telling reporters that "our plans are always fluid based on real time."  

Bronny was selected by the Lakers as the 55th overall pick during the second round of the NBA draft on June 27.

Reacting to the news in an Instagram post at the time, LeBron, 39, shared a photo of his son wearing a Lakers jersey, plus a close-up of his jersey-to-be, which reads “James Jr.” Alongside the photos, he wrote, “NO WORDS!! 🤴🏾.”

Several months later, on Oct. 22, Bronny made his historic professional debut, marking the first time a father-son duo played together in the NBA. Since then, he scored his first NBA basket during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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