Bronny James looks very similar to her father and makes his debut in the NBA Summer League

SAN FRANCISCO – With oversized headphones on his ears and dressed all in Lakers gold as he prepared for his NBA Summer League debut, rookie Bronny James looked so much like his famous father that some people at Chase Center did a double take.

Even down to their familiar mannerisms and facial expressions. Then Bronny took his place in the starting lineup for Los Angeles and his professional career was officially underway.

James missed his first two shots while playing nearly six minutes in his first period — he grabbed a defensive rebound 1 minute, 20 seconds into the game and then missed a 21-foot jump shot moments later. He failed on a 26-foot three-point attempt at the 4:23 mark of the first quarter before getting a breather.

James received applause and a warm ovation when he returned to the court 8:17 into the second quarter. With 7:23 left, he was called for his first career foul on a three-point attempt by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed on the right wing, and James protested briefly before the play went to replay and was overturned. James missed a three-pointer from the top of the three-point arc at the front rim 7:04 into the second quarter.

Then James finally scored his first NBA points with a layup 5:51 minutes before halftime.

At one point during his warm-up, the 6-foot-2 guard stood with his hands on his hips, in a position similar to his father, LeBron. Bronny James, drafted by the Lakers with the 55th pick in the second round out of the University of Southern California, started against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday in the California Classic at the San Francisco Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors.

If everything goes according to plan, 19-year-old James and his father would be the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time – and on the same team.

Bronny is the eldest son of LeBron, the NBA’s career-leading scorer. He survived a cardiac arrest during an informal team practice at USC on July 24 last year and was later found to have a congenital heart defect. The younger James signed a four-year contract that will pay him $7.9 million.

“The pressure has definitely gotten bigger,” Bronny James said last week when she was officially introduced by the Lakers. “I’ve seen it on (social) media and the internet before, and there’s been talk everywhere that maybe I don’t deserve a chance. But I’ve dealt with this kind of stuff my whole life. It’s nothing different. It’s definitely gotten bigger, but I can get through it.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba