Bronny James dazzles in LA preseason debut against the Timberwolves

Shooting guard Dalton Knecht, the Los Angeles Lakers’ acclaimed first-round draft pick, scored points off the bench in his preseason debut with LA on Friday. Although the former Tennessee Volunteers swingman scored 16 points on 7 of 13 shots from the floor (2 of 7 from distance), the Lakers still lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 124:107.

To be fair, the Lakers were without their two All-Stars, combo forward LeBron James and center Anthony Davis. On the other hand, the Timberwolves also had the two 2024 All-Stars on their roster: shooting guard Anthony Edwards and power forward Julius Randle.

But Knecht’s impressive play and the absence of these four outstanding players were not the story of the evening.

That would be James’ son Bronny. The 19-year-old rookie was selected by Los Angeles with the No. 55 pick out of USC in the same draft. After 16:04 minutes, the 1.90 meter tall point guard scored just two points on 1 of 6 shots from the field (0 of 1 from beyond the arc), one rebound, one assist and a disappointing -12 plus-minus. Bronny James scored his only basket of the contest with 55 seconds left in regulation and Los Angeles was already 18 points behind.

But he recorded a pretty encouraging stat: a whopping three blocks, including an appetizing chase-down rejection of a eurostepping Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Did it happen on an errant, easily intercepted pass to D’Angelo Russell? Perhaps.

Starting shooting guards Austin Reaves and Knecht led Los Angeles with 16 points each. Russell scored 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor (2 of 5 from distance). Newly signed swingman Max Christie started in James’ place (Jaxson Hayes started for Davis) and scored 11 points. Gabe Vincent scored an encouraging 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting from the floor (and 2 of 4 from beyond the 3-point line).

Small forward Josh Minott (22 points), rookie lottery point guard Rob Dillingham (21) and center Luka Garza (20) all led the Timberwolves in scoring off the bench as Minnesota prioritized scoring in a meaningless exhibition game to spare the best players. Along with Terrence Shannon Jr., this triumvirate was also the only Timberwolves players to play in the suit for more than 15 minutes, which explains all of their touches.

Most appetizing for Minnesota in the long run was a highly efficient turn from new trader Donte DiVincenzo, who served as the team’s starting shooting guard alongside Edwards. In just 9:54 minutes, the former New York Knick scored 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field (including 3-of-3 from distance), while also knocking down a pair of boards and one Hand out cents.

Next up for the Lakers, as they continue their “home game” in Palm Desert, is a Sunday game against another Western hopeful, the Phoenix Suns.

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