Los Angeles Lakers guard Bonny James, the eldest son of future Hall of Famer LeBron James, disappointed fans in the loss of 103-81 for Friday against the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert.
Bonny James held up to less than 10 points
Bonny James was held up to only eight points on just 1-of-12 shooting (1-from-8 from 3-point reach) in ACRISURE Arena. However, he made 5-6 free throws to go with five rebounds and two assists in almost 23 minutes of action.
“I felt that they were pretty good photos,” said James, who will be 21 on Monday. “Not in a hurry, nothing forcing. I didn’t have my legs as much among me as I wanted, so many of them were short, but most of them were online. I felt that I could have made it. I felt that I was taking some good photos.”
Although James appeared in 27 games before the Lakers during his Rookie season, much of his growth came while he was at the G -competition of Lakers, an average of 21.9 points and 5.5 assists.
Bronny James on his 1-out-12 shooting evening: “I didn’t hurry, forced nothing. I didn’t have my legs as much among me as I wanted, so I left a lot of them short.” pic.twitter.com/yfu03lkzyq
– Dave McMenamin (@mtten) October 4, 2025
Despite his struggles in the preseason opener, James has shown the progress to Lakers coach JJ Redick.
“He is so much more comfortable and confident as a player,” said Redick about Bonny. “In terms of skill, in terms of, all those things have improved, but there is a big difference between improving those things in individual training sessions and small group settings, and the 5-on-5.
“He is a totally different player than a year ago. I thought the stuff he did last year in the G competition was huge for him to develop a comfort level in playing at this level.”
Lakers played without Luka Doncic, LeBron James
In the loss of Friday, the Lakers also played without Luka Doncic (rest), LeBron James (nerve irritation in his glute), Marcus Smart (on the left Achilles tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (quad) and Rookie Adou Thiero (left kneezwelling).
Fellow 2024 Draft Pick Dalton servant finished 2-out-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 from Diep.
In addition, the newly acquired center Deandre Ayton made its Lakers debut, missed his both shots, committed four turnover, grabbed eight rebounds and only scored one point of a free throw in 18 minutes.
Bonny James was 55th generally selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 design from USC. Almost a year after the 6-foot-2 guard had sustained a cardiac arrest during a training due to a congenital heart defect.
In the season opener of the Lakers’ 2024-25 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he and LeBron became the first father-son duo that played together in an NBA match.
Per PlaceBonny is planned to earn $ 1.955 million in 2025-26 and $ 2.29 million in 2026-27. His deal also includes a club option of $ 2.48 million for 2027-28.
The Lakers organize the Golden State Warriors on October 21 to open their 2025-26 season.
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