Don't count the kid out just yet.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James enjoyed a career night in his G League road debut, erupting for 30 points in the South Bay Lakers' 106-100 loss to the Valley Suns on Thursday.
The son of NBA legend LeBron James has started to ramp up his production and workload playing for the Lakers' G League affiliate, and finally travel with the team for a road game to Tempe, Ariz.
He put together his most impressive game as a pro to date, finishing with 30 points on 13-for-23 shooting from the field and three of nine attempts from deep while tacking on three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 25 minutes.
James scored his first basket of the night less than two minutes into the game, nailing a 28-foot three-pointer — his first-ever make from beyond the arc as a pro. He then followed it up 30 seconds later with a 25-foot three-ball.
He finished the first frame with eight points, his highest-scoring quarter of basketball up to this point.
His second quarter made even more noise, as the 20-year-old elevated for an emphatic lob finish after losing his defender on a cut.
James has seen steady improvements since getting more reps in the G League. The rookie has only suited up for four games with South Bay prior to Thursday, but in his most recent outing on Dec. 7, he scored what was then a career high of 16 points with four rebounds and two assists.
Earlier in the season, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that the USC product would not join the South Bay Lakers for road games, only suiting up for the team's home games in what was seen as a controversial decision.
He had previously been splitting his time between Lakers and South Bay home games. However, he didn't step onto an NBA court between Nov. 13 and Dec. 6, opening the door for him to get more reps at the lower level.
In his limited NBA action, Bronny has averaged 0.6 points, 0.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 2.6 minutes per contest. But a slow ramp up to competition was always expected for the 55th overall pick at the 2024 NBA Draft.
He last suited up for L.A. in the closing minutes of a Dec. 8 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
South Bay's next game is the second leg of a road back-to-back against the Suns on Friday.
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