NBA - The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned Bronny James to their G League affiliate in South Bay, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania.

James is expected to join South Bay for its game with Salt Lake City on Saturday, which has already sold out. However, he will be on the Lakers’ roster for their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The plan is for James to split time between South Bay and Los Angeles, with him playing home games for the G League squad and being available for the Lakers when South Bay is on the road, according to Charania.

James moving between the NBA and G League was expected once the Lakers returned from their five-game road trip, which included a game with the Cleveland Cavaliers that Bronny’s father, LeBron James, surely wanted his son to play in to create a special moment for the James family.

Bronny played five minutes in the Lakers’ 134–110 loss to Cleveland, scoring two points (on his first career NBA basket) with two assists and one steal and a very supportive home crowd.

“It was insane,” Bronny said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Much more than I anticipated for sure. But it’s all love. It was insane. It was a nice moment. The chants really got me. I was straightfaced, but I felt it and it felt really good, especially coming from here.”

LeBron played with the Cavs for two separate stints totaling 11 seasons. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. During his time with the Cavs, LeBron won Rookie of the Year, two NBA MVP awards and the 2015-16 NBA championship. Bronny was born shortly before LeBron’s second season in Cleveland in 2004.

Appearing in four games with the Lakers, Bronny has averaged one point and three minutes per game. He was the Lakers’ second-round pick (No. 55 overall) of the 2024 NBA Draft. Bronny signed a fouryear, $7.9 million contract, a standard deal that agent Rich Paul negotiated rather than the two-way contract under which prospects splitting time between the NBA and G League typically play.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said last month that the “plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one.”

As James and his representative, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, discussed development throughout his pre-draft process with NBA teams, sources told ESPN that the concept of G League play was welcomed. Those sources said Paul advocated for a standard contract -- not a two-way deal -- before the draft while making it clear he and James were fully open to the development process.

Players drafted in the mid- to late second round typically spend time in the G League, gaining coaching, game repetitions and structure in their respective teams’ programs. During the 2023-24 season, 23 of the 28 players selected in the second round of the 2023 draft spent time in the G League.