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Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on February 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Bronny James was selected 55th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, and while the merits of him being picked at that spot to the Los Angeles Lakers could be up for debate, the son of LeBron James just had the best game of his season against the San Antonio Spurs, dropping a stat line of 12 points, three rebounds, and six assists in 25 minutes.
The Lakers didn’t play Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, or James Sr., and were blown out by the Spurs in part to Victor Wembanyama’s staggering first quarter, but the season-best performance from James Jr. is a good sign for the 21-year-old, who has spent a lot of time on the G-League South Bay Lakers.
Additionally, after his season-high scoring game, an interesting stat emerged about James.
According to Statmuse and the NBA’s official database, he has now scored as many points in his last four games as the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks, each having 28 points.
2024 draftees over the last four games:
1st pick — 55th pick —
28 PTS 28 PTS
32.4 FG% 57.9 FG%
27.8 3P% 80.0 3P%
33.3 FT% 66.7 FT%
James has been much more efficient shooting-wise, while playing in half the amount of minutes compared to his first overall pick counterpart.
Bronny James’ Season-High For The Lakers
The 25 minutes of action James got for the Lakers on Monday night were his most of the season, and as mentioned, it was likely due to the team’s three stars all being out. They also didn’t have Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton, who were out with injuries, however, with the most amount of run he’s gotten all year, James took advantage of the opportunity.
But despite his 12 points on 5/10 shooting, it came in a blowout loss to one of the Lakers’ Western Conference rivals, and head coach JJ Redick downplayed the game from the second-year guard, instead focusing on how he guarded Wembanyama.
“Well, I think the takeaway, you know, in terms of the physicality that we wanted on defense, he had two really good possessions in the first half against Wemby,” he told reporters.
James himself commented on his performance, but also chose to discuss his impact on the defensive end of the floor.
“I’d say defensively, that’s my role that I want to excel at,” he said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We have a lot of guys, Luka, LeBron, AR. Those guys can go get buckets whenever we need them. But they need guys like myself, Vando, Jake, guys who can defend.”
Yet still, the 136 points given up to the Spurs were the most for the Lakers this season. Wembanyama was shot out of a cannon in the first quarter, and with the numerous injuries for Los Angeles, they never looked to have a chance.
However, while James is still fighting for consistent playing time, his stats equaling those of Risacher in the past four games, while the Lakers are fighting for a top-four playoff seed, is a good sign for the young guard who continues to play in the shadow of his father. After dropping eight points, four points, four points again, his 12 points against San Antonio mark the highest-scoring game of the season.
Lakers Injury Updates To Luka Doncic, LeBron, And Others
The injury to Doncic is likely the most pressing concern for the Lakers, just a few days away from the All-Star Break. He previously left a game against the Philadelphia 76ers with what the team described as left leg soreness, before it was upgraded to a hamstring strain. Both Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka have continued to say the injury is minor and that the star should be considered day-to-day, but he will miss the All-Star game and likely return late in the month.
As for Reaves, he is still slowly returning from a calf strain that kept him out for more than a month. He had a strong 35-point performance recently, but was held out of the contest against the Spurs with what the team called ‘left calf injury management.’
James, however, was a somewhat surprising addition to the injury report. The latest update from McMenamin was that the 41-year-old is dealing with a foot injury, but as seen in the past, the league’s all-time leading scorer has a history of taking time off around the All-Star break. Yet still, he’s dealt with a number of other injuries and health concerns this season, so the Lakers keeping him out isn’t too much of a shock.
“Austin, he was coming back from a tissue injury, he was only going to play in one of these games,” Redick told reporters. “LeBron, obviously, dealing with the history of injuries he’s had to start the year. It just depends on how he wakes up the next day as he goes through his treatment in the morning, but we ruled him out.”
As for Smart, he was held out due to right ankle soreness, and Ayton missed the game because of a lingering foot injury. Neither is expected to miss major time, and Los Angeles likely used the game against the surging Spurs as a rest and recovery night for their main contributors.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski