Lakers’ Bronny James is flipping the script in summer league

Bronny James is in Vegas, but his performance Thursday night had a Hollywood ending.

The second-year Lakers guard ended the first half against the Celtics with zero points before he flipped the script, scoring a game-high 18 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and a steal in the 87-78 loss in Summer League action.

That included pulling a silky Euro-step out of his bag of tricks in the fourth quarter, freezing Boston’s Kenneth Lofton Jr. in the paint.

Through four games with his fellow Los Angeles youngsters, James is averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds on 47.6% shooting.

The son of his Lakers superstar teammate LeBron James, Bronny’s NBA career got off to an auspicious start as it was suspected his team guided him to Los Angeles in the 2023 draft and his rookie season saw limited minutes and plenty of the G League.

It’s worked for his development as he’s looked the veteran in this year’s summer league, looking more comfortable on both sides of the ball — he locked down No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg in a high-profile showdown against the Mavericks.

“Yeah, for sure,” he told reporters after scoring 17 points against the Clippers this week. “It helps that I was in the G-League running point guard most of the time. Just getting these reps in the Summer League is helping as well. Just getting more comfortable game by game.”

The younger James has seized some of the headlines back from his dad, who has been at the center of trade rumors and buzz this offseason.

The 40-year-old, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, exercised his $52.6 million option for the 2025-26 season, but agent Rich Paul hinted in a statement to ESPN that his client would seek a trade if he didn’t feel as if Los Angeles would be contending for a title.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN at the time. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”

This week, The Athletic reported the sides have not discussed and trade or buyout scenarios, leaving the elder James expected to still be a Laker at the beginning of the season.

Whether Bronny’s summer league progress has played a role in his dad’s decision remains to be seen, but it certainly can’t be hurting.