Bronny James scores 17 points in Lakers preseason finale

SAN FRANCISCO – While the Los Angeles Lakers gave their starters a break and fell 132-74 to the Golden State Warriors in their preseason finale on Friday, rookie guard Bronny James capped off the performance list with some personal improvements.

Bronny, the eldest son of LeBron James and selected by LA at No. 55 in the draft, started against the Warriors and scored 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting, with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block in 35 minutes.

“It's just a great feeling to go out and not think as much as I did and just play,” Bronny said after the game.

The 20-year-old struggled greatly in his first five preseason games, scoring a total of 8 points on 4-for-20 shooting (0-for-7 from 3) and 5 turnovers.

Friday was a different story. Less than a minute after kickoff, Bronny made his first shot, scoring with a searing layup while absorbing contact at the rim. He finally made a 3 when he beat the shot clock with a 28-foot jumper from the top of the arc in the second quarter.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said it was another step in the development of the prospect, who LA signed to a four-year, $7.9 million deal in the offseason.

“I think for him and all of our younger players, all moments are building blocks,” Redick said. “Not just the good moments. The bad moments are opportunities to learn. I think you have to have a certain amount of patience and optimism. I am very confident about the level of work of our young people.”

“So I think it certainly felt good for him to have 17 points. He's developed into a great basketball player.

Bronny's preseason trajectory mirrored his performance during summer league play at the California Classic and Las Vegas, as he struggled at first before scoring double-digit points in his final two games, helping LA to a pair of wins.

“(It gives me) just a little bit of confidence going into the season, even though I might not be in that rotation, maybe not playing, just going to practice, maybe G League games with the confidence to go out there .” and play my game,” Bronny said. “I feel like that’s the biggest part of it.”

The Lakers' other bright spot in the lopsided loss was freshman Quincy Olivari, a freshman from Exhibit 10, who led LA with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting (5-for-9 from 3) and 7 rebounds.

Warriors star Stephen Curry, who was forced out of the game with a sprained finger, then spent time with Bronny and Olivari.

Olivari showed Curry a video of himself getting an autograph from the sniper as a child while attending a Warriors away game against the Atlanta Hawks. Curry gave him a pair of his sneakers and signed them too.

“I slept under that jersey,” Olivari said, fighting back tears as he told reporters the story. “I just wanted to be like him. To get to know him, so that he could have some respect for me and so that we could talk in the background, he gave me a pair of his shoes and signed them.” . That meant the world to me.”

Olivari's Exhibit 10 deal allows LA to retain its rights to its G League team, the South Bay Lakers. The Lakers could also choose to waive one of their three two-way players in order to bring him to their NBA team at some point, although those spots are currently occupied by big men as insurance behind Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes, with Christian Wood is injured to start the season.

“I just want a job in the NBA,” Olivari said. “It's the only thing I've wanted since I was five years old, and my dad always said my greatest gift was my energy. Energy can never be created or destroyed, only transferred. That's why I bring energy to every team that wants me and I educate every group.