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“It Was Nuts” - Los Angeles Lakers Guard Described His Feelings During Much-Awaited NBA Debut 7 Jan 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) interacts with son Bronny James during the game against the Boston Celtics at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

'It Was Nuts' – Los Angeles Lakers Guard Described His Feelings During Much-Awaited NBA Debut

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 10:48 AM ET

During the 2024-25 NBA season, fans awaited the debut of Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James. After all, it was the first time in league history that a father and son would be able to share the court. Since the son of the LeBron James was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 55 pick, fans were looking forward to seeing him in action. He was arguably the most famous second round pick since the NBA started in 1949.

As a second-round pick, it was expected that James wouldn’t surprise the fans like a lottery pick would. Despite that, fans were still eager to see how well he’d perform against some of the top basketball talents in the world.

In his first game in the NBA, he stayed on the floor for 2:41 and made history with his father. The younger James didn’t score a point, but that didn’t matter at that time.

James appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel “Grant Horvat Golf.” In the video, the Los Angeles Lakers guard revealed what it felt like for him to play his first NBA game.

“It was nuts, it was crazy,” he said of his debut. “A crazy experience to be a part of, but like the nervousness. It was out of the roof. I wasn’t shaking, but you know, I was ready to go out and play, but it’s different when your dad’s on the team. You got expectations. The Lakers, franchise has expectations. Yeah for sure, I’m a basketball head, so it was fun to just be out there and step on an NBA floor for the first time. It was crazy.”

The former USC guard appeared in 27 games last season, averaging 2.3 points on 31.3% shooting from the field.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star believes Bronny James is in good hands with the team

Feb 4, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Drew Eubanks (15) during the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

There’s not a lot of expectation of what kind of player James would be following his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. As a second round pick who suffered a health scare during his lone college season, it’s difficult to see him as a star in the NBA.

But former Lakers star Magic Johnson believes that the son of the four-time champion is in good hands with how the team can handle his development.

”Basketball fans, Bronny James is in good hands with the Lakers, who are great with developing talent. Two names that I can name recently that I’ve seen firsthand are Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves, who both are starters in the league today. Bronny will be next,” the Los Angeles Lakers icon posted on X.

Based on Magic’s logic, there’s a chance that the younger James can carve out a productive role soon.

“It Was Nuts” - Los Angeles Lakers Guard Described His Feelings During Much-Awaited NBA Debut 9 Jan 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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