G League

Bronny James and the South Bay Lakers lost to the Motor City Cruise 110-97 on Monday night, with James putting up 16 points despite struggling from beyond the arc, going 0-of-6.

In addition to his 16 points, James added two rebounds, four assists, one steal and four turnovers while shooting 5-of-16 from the field in the loss. Forward Cole Swider contributed 24 points.

On the other side of the court, center Tolu Smith posted 19 points, 14 rebounds and two assists, while guard Daniss Jenkins also contributed 19 points.

The Lakers fell to 10-16, snapping their four-game win streak. They remain at No. 13 in the Western Conference standings.

James began the first quarter with a monstrous dunk less than two minutes into the game, but it would be the only points he contributed in the opening period. In the second, James added three more points to his first-half performance entering halftime with five points.

Stepping it up in the second half, James scored 11 points, including a stellar reverse layup and floater, but the efforts were not enough to secure the win.

James had averaged 21.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 44.5 percent from the field over his first eight games with South Bay.

The 20-year-old last made an appearance in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers on March 4 during their 136-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, finishing with two points in four minutes.

South Bay will take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday at the UCLA Health and Training Center.

Bronny James and the South Bay Lakers beat the Motor City Cruise, 121-103, on Saturday night behind James' 16 points.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 9-15 on the season, while the Cruise dropped to 13-10 and the Lakers extended their winning streak to four straight games.

In addition to James' 16 points, he added five rebounds and six assists while shooting 5-of-9 from the field in the victory. Solomon Young contributed 24 points.

James had seven points at halftime, along with four rebounds and three assists on 2-of-4 shooting, including a dominant dunk off an alley-oop from Quincy Olivari.

Out of halftime, James added nine points to his total while finishing 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, including an impressive step-back jumper that was good for three.

James has been averaging 21.9 points over seven games this season with South Bay in addition to 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists

Despite being active for the Los Angeles Lakers 136-115 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Thursday, he did not see any minutes on the court. He last appeared in the Lakers' 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, finishing with two points in four minutes.

He is averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists over 18 games in the NBA after being the No. 55 pick out of USC in the 2024 NBA Draft. He has appeared in just three games alongside his father, LeBron James, for a total of 10 minutes.

On Monday, South Bay will seek look to win its fifth straight game as they face the Cruise once again in El Segundo, California.

Bronny James is continuing to find his stride in the G-League.

The 2024 second-round pick had a solid showing in a 93-90 loss for the South Bay Lakers on Saturday, leading all scorers with 23 points while adding nine rebounds and five assists.

This was his sixth game scoring in double figures in the G-League and his best showing since his 30-point performance on Dec. 12.

Fans took to social media to praise Bronny's continued improvement and projected when he will become a rotation player for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bronny is now averaging 13.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds in seven G-League games and is shooting 37.4 percent.

He averaged 0.6 points, 0.3 assists and 0.1 rebounds in seven games at the NBA level this season but his progression at the G-League level should make him more of a factor later in the season. He also could give the team some flexibility going forward if he can slip into a bench role and allow the team to make a move for a strong player.

He will continue to play for South Bay in the near future, however, and will look to continue his solid stretch on Jan. 3 when the Lakers face the Mexico City Capitanes.

Bronny James had quite a day for the South Bay Lakers.

The 20-year-old scored 16 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals in South Bay's 98-90 loss to the Greensboro Swarm.

This comes after a 30-point performance last Friday against the Valley Suns as the 2024 second-round pick continues to get more comfortable to the professional game.

Fans took to social media to praise James' performance despite the loss:

James is averaging 14.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in the G-League but his production continues to improve every game. He has appeared in a few NBA games alongside his dad, LeBron James, but has stated his desire to improve in the G-League to eventually become a solid professional.

Thursday's effort came in the Lakers first game in the G-League Winter Showcase in Orlando. Fans will also get a chance to see James and the team on Saturday when South Bay takes on the Osceola Magic.

Bronny James impressed fans in his long-awaited return to the South Bay Lakers on Saturday night in their 119-11 victory over the San Diego Clippers.

In his first game since Nov. 17, following recovery from a left heel injury, James posted a career-high 16 points, along with four rebounds, two assists and one block, while shooting 6-of-15 from the field.

After battling back from a 35-24 deficit in the first quarter, the Lakers outscored the Clippers by 12 points in the second quarter to take a one point advantage heading into halftime.

James recorded 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, along with two rebounds and one assist, while posting a positive plus-minus on the court of plus-nine in the first half.

The No. 55 overall pick added six points in the second half to help propel South Bay to a victory over San Diego, improving the Lakers' record to 4-8 as they currently sit second to last in the West Division.

James shot 0-of-4 from beyond the arc, continuing his shooting struggles this season, but dominated in the paint—a strategy that has proven far more effective for the 20-year-old.

Saturday marked James' third game of the G-League season, where he entered averaging 5.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

In his last game against the Stockton Kings, James recorded four points, two rebounds and two assists in a 127-122 loss. Prior to that, he scored six points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out four assists and added two steals in a 110-96 victory over the Salt Lake City Stars.

The rookie's return impressed fans following his weeks-long absence, as he continues to uphold the legacy of his father, LeBron James.

The South Bay Lakers will head to Tempe to take on the Valley Suns next Thursday and the Los Angeles Lakers will face the Portland Trailblazers at home on Sunday.

The NBA G League is adding a new rule that could make games slightly more exciting.

The league revealed Monday that it will introduce a rule change that will record unsuccessful end-of-period "heaves" as a team missed field goal attempt rather than a missed field goal attempt for the player who took the shot.

According to a statement announcing the new rule change, the missed "heaves" would have to meet the following criteria to be recorded as a team field goal attempt: "1) the missed field goal attempt takes place within the final three seconds of the first three periods of the game, 2) the missed field goal attempt must take place from beyond the outer edge of the center circle extended."

With the new rule change, players could attempt buzzer-beaters from deep without having a missed shot negatively impacting their shooting percentage. While a missed shot wouldn't count towards the player's percentage, a made shot would count as a standard made field goal attempt.

The G League also announced Monday it will implement a new rule for coach's challenges. Under the expanded coach's challenge, technical fouls, unsportsmanlike acts and flagrant fouls will be the only called fouls and violations that are not subject to review.

G League will also implement a new target score for overtime rather than a traditional timed overtime. The new overtime will have a target score of seven points, meaning the first team to reach the target score will win.

The full list of rule changes can be found here.

The G League serves as the "NBA's research and development laboratory," meaning many of the new rules in the G League could eventually make their way to the NBA.

The Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat's NBA G League affiliate, announced Wednesday they acquired the returning player rights for veteran guard Tony Snell.

Sioux Falls relinquished its player rights for forward Cheick Diallo to the Maine Celtics to facilitate the deal.

In the G League, teams maintain the roster rights for any player who was with them within the previous two seasons.

Snell signed with Maine in January 2023 and rejoined the Celtics ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. In 50 combined regular season appearances, he averaged 7.0 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 41.1 percent overall and 37.8 from the perimeter.

The 32-year-old also suited up in all five of Maine's playoff games last year as the team finished runner-up to the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League Finals.

Prior to resurfacing in the G League, Snell spent nine seasons in the NBA across spells with the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans.

In June 2023, Snell told Today's Craig Melvin he and his son, Karter, had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. He only discovered his own diagnosis after first learning Karter was autistic and remembering how he had behaved similarly as a child.

Extending his basketball career has taken on a larger significance as a result. When players have 10 or more years of service time, their spouse and children receive healthcare benefits through the NBA pension plan.

"I didn't make it this far to make it (just) this far," Snell said to Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal in August. "I'm really trying to get that 10th year to take care of my family for life."

Matas Buzelis is heading home.

The Chicago Bulls have selected the Chicago native with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He becomes the latest addition to a Bulls team that has just acquired Josh Giddey and could see a lot of roster turnover this offseason.

Buzelis grew up in Hinsdale, Il, a suburb southwest of Chicago. He shared a message with his future fanbase shortly after being selected.

Fans took to social media to praise Chicago for taking the local player and projected a bright future for him in a Bulls uniform.

He spent the 2023-24 season with the G-League Ignite, averaging 11.8 points, five rebounds and 1.7 assists in nine games. He fell slightly, as he was projected as the No. 8 pick by Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman in his final mock draft.

He joins a Bulls team that went 39-43 in 2023-24 and fell in the play-in tournament. This was the second consecutive season that the Bulls missed out on the postseason, and it has not reached the second round of the playoffs since the 2014-15 season.

The first move of the offseason was acquiring Giddey, who Chicago received from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Alex Caruso June 20. The Bulls will now look towards a potential trade for Zach LaVine, who has been involved in trade rumors since last offseason.