What Is The NBA G League? Why Bronny James Was Sent Down To South Bay

In the Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 22, Bronny and LeBron James made league history by becoming the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game at the same time. Team coach JJ Redick then said last month that the “plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one.”

“[General manager] Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that,” the tactician then added, as it is common that a few players drafted in the second round can spend time in the G League in order to build on their NBA development and hone their talents within their respective club programs.

For example, during the past campaign, 23 of the 28 players selected in the second round of the 2023 draft spent time in the G League. Bronny, who was the 55th selection in this year’s selection, has already appeared in four games this season for the purple and gold.

"The tough part and good part is he's gonna get everyone's best shot in the G-League. You know kids are gonna go at him… This is a great opportunity to go prove himself."

Chandler Parsons on Bronny James going to the G-League 👀

(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/DVv6xGwCfh

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 8, 2024

Back in July, Redick anticipated what the approach would be. “For us, prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like, case study one, because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing, there’s a lot to like about his game,” the rookie coach told ESPN reporters this past summer.

“And as we sort of build out our player development program holistically, he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player,” JJ said about the player that only played 25 games (six starts) at USC, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 19.3 minutes per match.

Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who serves as the representative of both Bronny and LeBron, had already considered throughout his pre-draft process that he would eventually end up playing in the G League until he gained more experience.

According to Shams Charania’s sources, Paul negotiated for a standard contract instead of a two-way deal before the draft, just as he and his client were still fully open to the development process. Let’s remember that each NBA team can sign a maximum of three players to two-way contracts, with Christian Koloko, Armel Traore, and Quincy Olivari aiming to occupy the Lakers’ two-way spots.

However, an important thing to consider is that two-way players are ineligible for the NBA playoffs. The only exception for a two-way signing to become eligible for the postseason is if a club changes the two-way deal into a standard contract.

The Lakers rookie’s G-League debut seems to be already sold out despite the prices being more expensive than usual

Bronny already has a date for his debut with the South Bay Lakers, who are set to play at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California, this weekend. According to Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times, Saturday’s match against the Salt Lake City Stars is already sold out.

The news surfaced as a huge surprise, especially considering that the tickets on the secondary market are not going for less than $200, which are shockingly expensive. At this point, James Jr. is expected to shuttle between the NBA and the G-League, but only participating in home games for the South Bay.

The strategy will be that the young forward should be back in Los Angeles alongside LeBron in various moments throughout the 2024-25 campaign. Up to this point, the 20-year-old has already featured in four of the purple and gold’s first eight matches.

Bronny is currently averaging 1.0 points, 0.5 assists and 0.3 rebounds per contest while shooting at 16.7% from the field. The G League should serve as the perfect opportunity for him to tune up and make significant developments as he hopes looks to settle in the NBA for good one day.