In many ways, Bronny James’ G League debut mirrored his first few months with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He’s trying to find his role.

James started and scored six points on Saturday as the South Bay Lakers defeated the Salt Lake City Stars 110-96.

“I haven’t been around the team as much as I can yet to figure out what my role is on that team. So I’m just going to go out there and play my game and just hope,” James said.

James – the 20-year-old son of LeBron James – was 2 of 9 from the field, including 0 of 4 on three-pointers. The 6-foot-1 guard also had three rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

He was added to South Bay’s roster on Thursday after the Lakers completed a five-game road trip.

Saturday marked the most action Bronny has had in a game since the Lakers’ preseason finale against Golden State on Oct. 18, when he played 35 minutes and scored 15 points.

“I think he did a great job of dictating the ball. He got the first bucket of the game … He played great, he played unselfish, he played within the flow of the game,” said South Bay coach Zach Guthrie. “And I thought, like all of our guards, we defended at a high level.”

LeBron watched the game from seats across the main stands with his wife Savannah and their 10-year-old daughter Zuri. Gloria James, Bronny’s grandmother, was also in attendance, along with Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

LeBron and Lakers coach JJ Redick have repeatedly said Bronny will spend ample time in the G League this season as he works on his game.

Bronny played five games for the Lakers, scoring four points in fourteen combined minutes of action. He scored in the final 1:28 of the Lakers’ 116-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

LeBron and Bronny made NBA history on Oct. 22 when they became the first father and son to play together in the Lakers’ season-opening win over Minnesota.

Saturday got off to a good start for Bronny as he scored on his first possession, hitting a pull-up jumper 43 seconds into the game.

“I was just about to get a bucket. It hit me and I… yeah. I didn’t miss,” he said.

Bronny’s other basket floated in the lane during the second quarter. He also got a free throw in the fourth quarter. The G-League has an experimental free throw rule this season where one foul shot could be worth two or three points for each foul not made in the last two minutes and would typically result in two or three free throws being shot.

Bronny showed off his passing ability late in the first quarter with a nifty lob to Kylor Kelley for an alley-oop.

Midway through the second quarter, Bronny partially blocked Isaiah Wong’s layup before Quincy Olivari grabbed the rebound. Maxwell Lewis finished with a three-pointer from the other end of the court, giving the Lakers a 40-28 lead.

Bronny’s debut drew a packed crowd to the Lakers’ training complex, where South Bay plays its games. The capacity of the UCLA Health Training Center is 676.

“It felt pretty good to go out there and just play my game. Not much difference. I was just playing basketball. It felt good,” said Bronny, who was the 55th overall pick in the 2024 draft in June , after averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25 games for Southern California last season. “I’ve seen all the buzz about me going to the G. It’s just a great experience for me to go out and play my game and get some minutes under me. I’m just excited about it.”

Salt Lake City coach Steve Wojciechowski admitted it was a different atmosphere compared to other G League road games.

“I mean, this doesn’t normally happen after a G League game. I’m on my second slice of pizza now,” he said of a post-game interview. “It’s exciting for the G League and it brings attention to our league. And we have one of the best leagues in the world. Perhaps the third best league in the world, after the NBA and EuroLeague.

“His story not only brings attention to South Bay, but to the league in general and to the guys who play in the league. And so it’s great for the league to have more attention paid to those stories, even though they generated by this exceptional story.” .”