Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Bronny James, the 20-year-old son of 20-time All-NBA Lakers superstar power forward LeBron James, has had a choppy start on the hardwood to his pro career.
Read more: Former NBA Superstar Rips ‘Awkward’ Bronny James Start
Off the court, however, James has been a revenue bonanza for L.A. controlling owner Jeanie Buss.
According to Marca.com, the 6-foot-2 former USC Trojan has already sold at least 500,000 jerseys of his No. 9 rookie uniform, at a cost of around $100 per, earning Los Angeles over $50 million off his “James Jr.” threads. That number reportedly shatters his dad’s rookie season record.
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James and his dad made another kind of NBA history during L.A.’s first game of the regular season on Oct. 22. When the two took the court together late in the second quarter of a 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, they became the first father-son duo to achieve that in the history of the league.
Read more: Lakers’ LeBron and Bronny James Make NBA History
Bronny James suited up for just three minutes. He shot 0-for-2 from the floor (0-for-1 from 3-point range), but did secure one rebound.
That first game has by and large set the tone for Bronny’s first pro season. He has appeared in a scant six contests for the 12-9 Lakers thus far, averaging just 0.7 points on .167/.000/1.000 shooting splits, 0.3 assists, and 0.2 steals a night in 2.7 minutes a night.
Los Angeles has been primarily focused on developing Bronny through its G League affiliate in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers. The team intends to play him in all of its South Bay home games this season.
In his two appearances for South Bay, Bronny James has averaged 5.0 points on .211/.000/1.000 shooting splits, 3.0 assists (against 3.0 turnovers), 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in 28.5 minutes a night.
Read more: Lakers Officially Demote Bronny James to G League
The younger James has been dealing with a heel injury for the last few weeks, which in fairness has likely stalled his progress.
His dad has been faring better at the NBA level, but even LeBron James has had a bit of a rough go recently. LeBron recently went through a surprising individual six-game scoring slump, averaging a low-for-LeBron James 16.8 points while slashing .398/.100/.857. He logged a cumulative -15.2 plus-minus across those six contests, while L.A. went 2-4.
For the year, LeBron is still averaging a solid line of 22.3 points on .491/.342/.758 shooting splits, 9.0 assists and 7.9 rebounds, while appearing in all 22 of L.A.’s games.
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