Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James came close to tying a record set by the Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade.
On Friday, James had three blocks in a preseason debut as the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-107. The only player to register more blocks in a preseason debut was Wade, who had four back in 2003.
“As a coaching staff, before the game, as we were kind of going over our rotation matrix, we were talking about Bronny, and he’s had some really good days in August and September,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He’s had three really good days this week. We’re really happy with his progress.”
James is the son of future Hall of Famer LeBron James. He was selected with the No. 55 choice in June after one season at USC. Wade is the best player in Heat history, winning three championships. It’s far too early to say both are on parallel paths, but the Lakers were encouraged by James’ start.
“He can do some things defensively at his size that are really unique, and I think can turn into a really disruptive defender,” Redick said. “That manifested itself. On the offensive end, he’s still figuring out who he is. That’s our job as a player development program just to build him in.
But truthfully, he’s just so easy to coach. He’s got a great soul and just a great energy about him. I like being around him. I’m rooting for him. He’s a good player that we’re happy to have in our program.
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