SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Once that second-quarter layup went in and he finally scored his first NBA points after three misses, Bronny James was able to exhale and everything started to slow down.
He doesn’t expect to be perfect at this early stage of his professional career, and every touch and possession will provide an opportunity for growth and learning.
He certainly felt the love and support Saturday, even playing in the Bay Area led by Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
“The atmosphere was better than I expected,” James said, smiling. “It’s a big game for me, but I didn’t know Golden State was coming out to represent me, so it was pretty cool to see.”
With oversized headphones on his ears and dressed in Lakers gold as he prepared for his NBA Summer League debut Saturday, the rookie looked so much like his famous father, LeBron, that it caused some at Chase Center to do a double take.
Down to their familiar mannerisms, their facial expressions and the way they ran or dropped back on defense. Bronny James took his place in the Los Angeles Lakers starting five and his professional career was officially underway, with scouts galore in the building to see him as he wore jersey No. 9 — not to be confused with his father’s old No. 6 uniform that he wore before switching to No. 23.
“Every first game I take to the next level, I always get butterflies in my stomach, but as soon as the ball swings and we lose a few points, it all goes away and I’m just playing basketball,” he said. “It’s still there, but you have to get through it.”
The younger James finished 2-of-9 for four points, missing all three of his three-pointers, with a pair of assists, two rebounds and a steal in just under 22 minutes of ice time — 21:43 to be exact — as the Lakers lost 108-94 to the Sacramento Kings.
James missed his first two shots as he played nearly six minutes in his first action — grabbing a defensive rebound 1:20 into the game and then missing a 21-foot jump shot moments later. He missed a 26-foot three-point try 4:23 into the first quarter before taking a break.
There were cheers and a warm ovation when James returned to the court at 8:17 of the second quarter. He was first called for his first career foul on a three-point attempt by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed on the right wing with 7:23 remaining, and James argued briefly before the play was reviewed and called off. James missed a three-pointer from the front rim of the top of the arc at 7:04.
Then, finally, James scored his first NBA points on a running layup 5 minutes, 51 seconds before halftime.
“Moments like that can slow the game down, especially because I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be before,” he said. “… I wasn’t able to knock down the three-pointer, but with each repetition it’s going to be more fluid.”
James missed a pair of free throws at 4:43 of the third period on his first trip to the line.
At one point during his warm-up, the 6-foot-2 point guard stood with his hands on his hips in a position that resembled his father’s. And during the game, the son leaned toward the three-point corner of the baseline, clutching his knees as he waited for the offensive possession to begin.
Young James was selected by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the second round, out of the University of Southern California.
He’ll get another chance to play Sunday, when the Lakers face the Warriors, again at Chase Center. Coach Dane Johnson plans to give James plenty of opportunities to acclimate and gain valuable experience in the coming days and weeks.
“I hope he plays every game, we’ll see how it goes,” Johnson said. “We’ll try to integrate him and play him as many times as possible. He needs more experience.”
Johnson praised James’ deep knowledge of the game, noting: “We all know he’s got great instincts already, so he’s going to find consistency in that area as we progress through summer league and throughout the upcoming season. His instincts are there, we just have to continue to develop habits.”
If all goes as planned, James, 19, and his father would become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time — and on the same team, no less.
“It doesn’t matter what he does in the California Classic and the Summer League, whether he plays well or not,” LeBron James said at USA Basketball’s training camp in Las Vegas. “I just want him to continue to improve, to practice, to film his workouts, to do his individual workouts. You can’t take the stats from the California Classic and the Summer League and take them back after the season starts. The only thing that matters is that he gets better and he keeps getting better.”
Bronny is the eldest son of LeBron, the NBA’s leading scorer. He survived a cardiac arrest on July 24 during an informal team workout at USC and was later determined to have a congenital heart defectYoung James signed a four-year contract that will pay him $7.9 million.
He will remind himself throughout the journey to stay aggressive and “believe in myself, knowing that I can make plays for myself and my teammates.”
“Looking at my mistakes and the things I did well helps me a lot,” James said. “But also, getting used to my game, game after game, is one of the reasons I come out here and do these reps.”
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AP basketball writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
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