Bronny James Seizes Spotlight In Lakers Loss As Wemby Makes History

The sun and the moon must have aligned Tuesday night because Bronny James finally got his moment to shine.

With the Los Angeles Lakers missing five starters in a lopsided matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, the door swung wide open—and Bronny walked right through it. Luka Dončić (hamstring), Austin Reaves (left calf), LeBron James (foot), Marcus Smart (right ankle) and Deandre Ayton (knee) were all sidelined, giving the rookie extended run in a game that quickly turned into a blowout with the Lakers losing 136-108.

Bronny logged 25 minutes and made the most of them.

He poured in a season-high 12 points on 50% shooting from the field and knocked down both of his attempts from beyond the arc. He also chipped in three rebounds and a block, but it was his playmaking that stood out most. James finished with a team-high six assists, showcasing the court vision that has long been part of his scouting report.

The highlight of the night came on a slick alley-oop dime to rookie Adou Thiero, who punctuated the feed with a thunderous two-handed slam.

Playing against the Spurs, it’s hard to ignore the French phenom in the room, Victor Wembanyama, who Bronny had the pleasure of guarding en route to his history-making night. Wemby made history as the first player to score 40 points and grab 12 rebounds in 26 minutes or less.

“It’s something else for sure. I’m one of the smaller guys on the floor guarding the tallest guy in the league. It’s definitely a challenge but I’m up for anything.”

He also talked about learning his role as a pro and how much he strives to excel on defense.

“I’d say defensively. That’s my role that I want to excel at,” he said. “Especially on this team we have a lot of guys, Luka, LeBron, AR. Those guys can go get buckets whenever we need them but they need guys like myself, Vando, Jake, guys who can defend. I definitely get more satisfaction out of that.”

The performance was a bright spot in what has otherwise been a quiet rookie campaign. Just days earlier, following a Feb. 7 win over the Golden State Warriors, Bronny had been reassigned to the G-League to continue developing against other young prospects. But with injuries piling up, he was recalled—along with Thiero and Dalton Knecht—ahead of Monday’s 119-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Coming into Tuesday, James was averaging 1.9 points, 1.1 assists, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 steals in just 6.8 minutes per game across 27 appearances this season.

For one night at least, the stat line—and the spotlight—looked a little different.

See social media’s reaction to Bronny’s night below.