SAN FRANCISCO — Oversized headphones on his ears and dressed in full Lakers gold as he geared up for his NBA Summer League debut, rookie Bronny James looked so much like his famous father it caused some people at Chase Center to do a double-take.
Even down to their familiar mannerisms, facial expressions and the way they run and shuffle back on defense. Then, Bronny James took his place in the starting lineup for Los Angeles and his professional career was formally underway Saturday — wearing jersey No. 9, not to be confused with his dad’s former 6 uniform he sported before switching to 23.
The younger James wound up 2 for 9 for four points, missing all three of his 3s, with a pair of assists, two rebounds and a steal in just under 22 minutes of court time — 21:43 to be exact — as the Lakers lost 108-94 to the Sacramento Kings.
James missed his initial two shots while playing nearly six minutes in his first run of action — grabbing a defensive rebound 1 minute, 20 seconds into the game then missing a 21-foot jump shot moments later. He came up short on a 26-foot 3-point try at the 4:23 mark of the opening quarter before getting a breather.
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James received cheers and a warm ovation when he returned to the court at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. He was initially whistled for his first career foul on a 3-point attempt by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed on the right wing with 7:23 remaining, and James argued briefly before the play went to replay review and was overturned. James missed a 3 off the front rim from the top of the arc at 7:04.
Then, at last, James scored his first NBA points on a driving layup 5:51 before halftime. He missed a pair of free throws at the 4:43 mark of the third period in his first trip to the line.
AP source: Bridges stays with Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets are keeping forward Miles Bridges after the forward was re-signed to a three-year, $75 million contract, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because the agreement cannot yet be announced.
Bridges has spent his first five seasons with the Hornets and indicated leading up to free agency that he wanted to remain with the franchise that drafted him in the first round in 2018 out of Michigan State.
He averaged a career-high 21 points and 7.3 rebounds last season after sitting out all of the 2022-23 season due to his involvement in a domestic violence situation. He was suspended 30 games by the NBA last summer after pleading no contest, and sat out the first 10 games of the season.
AP source: 76ers add Heat’s Martin
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers continued to build around their star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George with the addition of free-agent forward Caleb Martin, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Martin intends to sign the multi-year contract shortly after the league’s moratorium on signings is lifted, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet official.
Terms were not yet available. ESPN reported it was a four-year deal guaranteed for more than $32 million.
The 28-year-old Martin, who averaged 8.5 points over five seasons, including the last three with the Heat. It was in Miami where Martin developed a reputation of raising his game. He averaged 10 points and shot 35% from 3-point range.
