The Los Angeles Lakers lost 94-108 against the California Classic Sacramento Kings in the 2024 Summer League at Chase Center in San Francisco, California on the 7th (Korea Standard Time).
Monday's game was the Lakers' debut game for Bronny James, the son of LeBron James. Bronny was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
To be honest, Bronny's performance was not good. Bronny played for 22 minutes and made only two of his nine field throws, four points, two rebounds. It was embarrassing to call it the NBA level in attack. There were occasional flashes, but most of the scenes were disappointing.
Bronny was originally considered to have advantages in defense over offense. Even in college, Bronny had only 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds on average. It is rare for a player with such stat to be selected in the NBA draft. The reason why Bronny was nominated was because of the presence of his father LeBron and his defensive ability that showed potential.
Bronny also showed off several strengths in defense in the game on the day. Using his physical ability, Bronny pressured the opposing team's players from half-court, and he also stole while reading pass paths.
However, he still lacked more defense capabilities. First of all, there were many scenes where the opponent team's striker beat Bronny at once at speed. His small stature became an issue in defense. Bronny is 187 centimeters tall and should take charge of guard defense in the NBA. His height is regrettable in the modern basketball world, where the average height is getting bigger. Even if he has good defense capabilities, he can be targeted by rival teams due to his physical limitations. Bronny also had such scenes several times on the day. 동행복권파워볼
In the end, both offense and defense were disappointing. To be honest, even at the Summer League level, it could be considered unreasonable to put them into the NBA regular league with this kind of performance.
Bronny is a 3&D type player, so if his teammates improve, he is likely to show his strengths. However, it is also true that he seems skeptical when he sees his debut game in the Summer League.
Of course, many NBA superstars have not performed very well in the Summer League. However, Bronny is not the first player to be named as the future of the team. He was nominated in the second round, which is difficult for him to survive. Only when he gets recognized in the Summer League can he participate in the regular NBA league.
Bronny caused controversy that he was selected in the NBA draft due to the presence of his father LeBron. To overcome this controversy, we need a good performance from the Summer League.
The Lakers' next Summer League game will be held at Chase Center against the Golden State Warriors on the 9th.