Lakers’ Bronny James Scores First NBA Basket, Receives Ovation From Cleveland Crowd

Well on the way to a blowout defeat Wednesday night, Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick acquiesced to Cleveland Cavaliers fans and put Bronny James in the game late in the fourth quarter. James responded by scoring his first NBA basket on a midrange jumper, earning a roaring ovation on the road in his home city.

The Cavs went on to win 134-110 and are now 5-0 to start the season, but Wednesday’s game will go down in history for James’ feat. The 20-year-old Cleveland native finished his second NBA appearance with two points, two assists and a steal in five minutes. Though he did not react to the crowd’s support in the moment, he admitted afterwards that he was touched.

“It was insane,” Bronny said. “Much more than I anticipated for sure. But it’s all love. It was insane. It was a nice moment. The chants really got me. I was straight-faced, but I felt it and it felt really good, especially coming from here.”

James’ early reputation in the NBA has been closely tied to claims of nepotism, with many arguing that Lakers star LeBron James influenced Los Angeles’ decision to draft him. In limited appearances since the summer, Bronny has struggled to adjust to NBA-caliber play but demonstrated Wednesday night that he has a shot of finding his way. His father, who began his career in Cleveland and won a championship in the city in 2016, commended him for handling the crowd’s expectations.

“He’s better than I would have been in that situation … 20,000 fans screaming my name to get in the game and wanting me to be in the game, and if the role’s reversed, I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it,” LeBron said. “To see him get his first NBA basket in this arena where he grew up not too far away from here, it’s an unbelievable moment.”

The Lakers’ loss to Cleveland was more on LeBron than Bronny, as the 39-year-old star scored 26 points but also committed six turnovers. Anthony Davis scored 22 points and rookie Dalton Knecht impressed with 18 points off the bench, but the team’s role players simply didn’t do enough to back up the two stars.