Bronny James is set to spend the next part of his rookie season in the NBA G League.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that James has been assigned to their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. The news comes after the Lakers completed a five-game road trip during which James scored his first NBA points late in a loss to the Cavaliers.
The news of James’ G League assignment should not come as much of a surprise. Reports of James spending time in the G League first surfaced during the offseason and such an assignment is not at all uncommon for a late second-round pick in their rookie year.
Here’s more on what the assignment means for James and the rest of his rookie season.
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Bronny James assigned to G League
James being assigned to the G League means he will be playing with the South Bay Lakers until he is called back up to Los Angeles.
Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and its Players’ Association, an NBA team may at any time assign a player on a standard contract and less than three years of NBA service to an NBA G League team. As a rookie, James falls within that criteria.
There is no limit to the number of times James can be assigned to the NBA G League. There, he will play alongside other Lakers on standard contracts, Lakers players on two-way contracts and members of the South Bay Lakers who are on standard G League contracts. Christian Koloko and Quincy Olivari are among the players on South Bay’s roster.
The South Bay Lakers play home games at the UCLA Health Training Center, the same arena the Los Angeles Lakers practice.
James could make his G League debut on Saturday, Nov. 9 when South Bay opens its season.
MORE: Why Bronny James wears jersey No. 9 |
Bronny James Lakers contract
James signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the Lakers. His contract is fully guaranteed through the 2025-26 season.
The third year of James’ contract becomes fully guaranteed on June 29, 2026. The fourth year of his contract is a team option that becomes fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2028.
All salary figures via Spotrac.
| Season | Salary | Age |
| 2024-25 | $1,157,153 | 20 |
| 2025-26 | $1,955,377 | 21 |
| 2026-27 | $2,296,271 (Partial Guarantee) | 22 |
| 2027-28 | $2,486,995 (Team Option) | 23 |
MORE: Complete game logs for Bronny James’ rookie season in the NBA
South Bay Lakers NBA G League schedule 2024-25
The South Bay Lakers open the 2024-25 season on Nov. 9 against the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Jazz.
| Date | Opponent (Affiliate) | Time (ET) |
| Nov. 9 | vs. Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) | 8 p.m. |
| Nov. 15 | at Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors) | 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 17 | vs. Stockton Kings (Kings) | 8 p.m. |
| Nov. 20 | at San Diego Clippers (Clippers) | 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 24 | vs. Stockton Kings (Kings) | 8 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | vs. San Diego Clippers (Clippers) | 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 27 | vs. Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers) | 10 p.m. |
| Nov. 30 | at Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors) | 10 p.m. |
| Dec. 2 | at Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers) | 9:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 4 | at Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers) | 9:30 p.m. |