There was one gold Lakers jersey for sale at the pop-up merchandise stand in the lobby outside the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo — and it represented why some of the Lakers’ biggest VIPs transformed a practice court into a venue for nearly 700 fans Saturday night — Bronny James.
In front of Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, coach JJ Redick, and players D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis and, of course, LeBron James, the Lakers’ rookie began the developmental league portion of his season, scoring six points with three rebounds and four assists in the South Bay Lakers’ 110-96 win over Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.
“It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game,” Bronny James said. “Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good.”
James missed South Bay training camp while he was on the road with the Lakers. For Redick and South Bay coach Zach Guthrie, the goal is to help James make the transition from one roster to the other as smooth as possible.
“That’s the beauty of what we’re doing here, right? The importance for us is that there is no real transition, right? That South Bay and L.A. are the same,” Guthrie said. “We have the same terminology, we use the same words, the plays are the same, the defensive schemes are the same. So his transition is seamless. Just like it was Christian [Koloko] playing against Memphis. So that’s what we want to be able to do, is just seamlessly transition from each team, play hard, execute, same things. Everything they’re asked to do for L.A., they’re asked to do for South Bay.”
James made the first shot of the South Bay season, a baseline jumper similar to the one he made in Cleveland on Oct. 30 for his first NBA points. He scored on a floater in the lane, but couldn’t connect beyond that. He missed all four of his three-point shots.
Still, his defensive physicality and playmaking, despite five turnovers, impressed guard Quincy Olivari.
“To have Bronny out there looking like how we did, I was just happy to see him get out there and show the world that he can play,” Olivari said. “I think I’m a big advocate on pushing that he’s a great basketball player, and that the criticism he gets is unfair.”
Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Lakers’ 2023 first-round pick who recently had his third-year contract option with the team declined, started with second-year wing Maxwell Lewis, James and two-way players Koloko and Quincy Olivari.
Hood-Schifino scored eight points but left before halftime with a leg injury. Lewis, the Lakers’ second-round pick a season ago, scored 27 on 10-of-18 shooting.
Olivari, who earned a two-way contract in the preseason, scored 28 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists while shooting seven for 15 from three-point range.
“My biggest goal was to come out here and show the Lakers and the people that were watching that what I was doing with the big team isn’t just a facade,” Olivari said. “I can come out here, even when I’m with the G League team, and show that I want to pick up [all] 94 [feet of the court]. That I’m a playmaker, that I’m willing to make all the right plays. But at the end of the day, if I get the ball and you need me to score, I’m gonna shoot it.”
The South Bay Lakers next play Friday in Santa Cruz before hosting Stockton on Nov. 17.
