Bronny James' Debut G League Game Quickly Sold Out

Weeks after debuting in the NBA alongside his famous dad LeBron James, Bronny James will be playing in his first G League game. The LA Lakers rookie was recently assigned to the Lakers G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, and will play his first game with the team on Saturday night against the Salt Lake City Stars.

On Friday morning, the South Bay Lakers announced that Bronny's debut game, also the team's season opener, is already sold out, with no tickets available at the door.

It was announced in late October that Bronny, 20, would start splitting his time between the NBA and the G League when he got back from a road trip with the Lakers.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said that while the plan is set for Bronny to begin splitting his time between the two leagues, he also said that could change down the line.

"Our plans are always fluid based on real time. I believe we have two guys dressing today that as of yesterday were not dressing out," he said in late October. "The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one. [General manager] Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron's talked about that."

It's nothing new for a rookie who was a second-round draft pick, such as Bronny, to spend time on the G League with a two-way contract.

On NBA Media Day, LeBron talked about future plans for his son's rookie season in the league.

"Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player no matter if it's here with us or if it's down with the G League team and him continuing to get better and better and better," he explained.

The G League team shared the news of their season-opener being sold out on Instagram on Friday morning.

"Tomorrow's game is SOLD OUT. [Tickets will not be sold at the door]," they wrote in their caption. "Catch the next one and buy your tickets for future #SBLakers games, while you still can."

Fans took to the comment section to share why they feel the game sold out so quickly.

"Because of Bronny James," one person wrote. Another asked, "It’s sold out because of who?? Bronny James."

It's not typical for a G League game to sell out. Two seasons ago, South Bay ranked last in attendance, averaging only about 441 fans per game in a venue with fewer than 1,000 seats, according to For the Win.

ESPN's Senior NBA Insider, Shams Charania, reported on Thursday that Bronny will only be playing in home games with the South Bay Lakers, and will go back-and-forth between the NBA and G League rosters.

Bronny is expected to play in Friday night's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers and then debut with the G League affiliate on Saturday for their season opener.

Many fans have voiced their opinions on Bronny being sent to the G League.

"No disrespect but he not NBA caliber," one person wrote in the comments of Charania's post. Another added, "That’s where he belongs. Probably shouldn’t play another minute on the Lakers."

One other basketball fan wrote, "He can’t develop sitting on the bench. He gotta play. This is perfect."

The father and son duo made NBA history in October when they became the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time together.

LeBron, 39, and Bronny got the chance to play a few minutes together, and after the experience, the proud papa took to social media to share his thoughts.

"For a father, it means everything," LeBron told ESPN after the historic moment. "For someone who didn't have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son, be able to have moments with your son, and ultimately to be able to work with your son, I think that's one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for."

Before the Lakers season opener, Charania announced that it was "very likely" that LeBron and Bronny would get some minutes together on the court.

"I'm told it's very likely, and the Lakers plan that LeBron James, Bronny James make history as the first father-son duo to be on the court at the same time, and likely to come early in the game as long as it's competitive and it's a flowing game as far as where the Lakers are at early on in the game," he explained.

"I think that's going to be very important. The Lakers want to allow this to happen during the flow of the game in a competitive environment. JJ Redick said on Monday that there is no plan finalized yet for both of them to play together on opening night, but this is something the Lakers have spent a lot of time discussing internally. It's never happened in the NBA before, may never, likely happen again. You think about LeBron James in year 22, he's really spoken this into existence. He's been talking about it for the last several years and now it is on the cusp of happening as soon as tonight."