Lakers Assign Bronny James To The G League — He Suits Up For Coachella Valley’s Debut Tonight
The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Bronny James to their G League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Lakers, the team announced Thursday — a move first reported by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The math in Los Angeles made the decision easy. The Lakers are off to a 7-2 start with a healthy backcourt under JJ Redick, and the 22-year-old guard has been glued to the bench: just five appearances, 2.4 minutes and 0.8 points per game in his third NBA season.
Coachella Valley is the franchise’s new G League home — the former South Bay Lakers relocated to Palm Desert and rebranded this season, playing at Acrisure Arena. The club makes its debut tonight (Friday) at home against the Salt Lake City Stars, and James is expected to start and finally get real minutes. Rookie guard Cameron Carr was assigned alongside him.
An assignment is not a demotion off the roster — James remains a Laker — and the G League is honestly where his game has spoken loudest. Across 25 games over the past two seasons, he averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds, including a career-high 31-point game.
The backdrop makes it a bigger story than a roster move. This is James’ first season without his father as a teammate, after LeBron James left for the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason. Last spring, the two made history as the first father-son duo to appear in an NBA playoff game together. Now Bronny’s job is to build an identity that stands on its own — and for now, that work happens in the desert.
Source: ESPN (Dave McMenamin), with reporting from Heavy and MyNewsLA.
