LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bronny James has gotten the message from his father and his coach: His transition to the Los Angeles Lakers is going to take some time and a lot of work.
And Friday only further proved what they've been saying.
James, the No. 55 overall pick in last month’s draft, struggled from the field and scored eight points as the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets 99-80 on the opening day of NBA Summer League.
Bronny’s dad, LeBron James, wasn’t there — he was with the U.S. Olympic team in Abu Dhabi, having arrived there earlier Friday to prepare for a pair of exhibitions next week as the Americans continuing ramping up for the Paris Games.
But Bronny’s mom, Savannah, was in the crowd, which was sold out and mostly filled with fans wearing Lakers purple and gold. They roared when Bronny James was introduced, as was expected.
“The atmosphere, they came to support,” James said.
James' final stats: 3 for 14 from the field, 0 for 8 on 3-pointers, five rebounds, two steals and three turnovers in 27 minutes. Through three games this summer, the first two coming at the California Classic — a smaller summer league in San Francisco — he's shooting 23% and has missed all 12 of his tries from 3-point range.
“The shot hasn't been falling,” James said.
Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke with ESPN during the second quarter Friday and in the on-air interview said that he has told Bronny James to focus on defense and what will be an intense player development program that the team will create for him.
“He had a heart procedure last year, up-and-down freshman year, obviously going through the pre-draft process, there’s a conditioning element to being able to play that way defensively,” Redick said. “But overall, we like what we’ve seen in practice. We like what we’ve seen in Summer League.”
LeBron James — who played in summer leagues at Orlando and Boston as a rookie — has already said that he wants his son to remember that the stats, good, bad or otherwise, don't matter whatsoever this summer. He just wants to see growth and learning.
"The only thing that matters is him getting better and stacking days," he said.
Bronny James had six of the Lakers’ first 13 points on Friday — a layup, two free throws and then a dunk where the guard who is perhaps a bit generously listed at 6-foot-2 showed off the athleticism by getting up from under the basket for a jam.
He didn't score again until midway through the fourth quarter, getting a driving basket on a nifty move — starting with a left-hand dribble down the lane, then extending and getting a floater to fall with his right hand.
James’ first two games at the California Classic didn’t lead to much in the way of stats. He shot 3 for 12 from the floor, 1 for 4 from the foul line, went 0 for 4 on 3-pointers. He did average 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 25 minutes per game in those two contests.
“I’m excited about Bronny,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said earlier in the week. “It’s a cool experience. Never been done before, never happened in basketball so it’s a cool experience to have him on our team and just kind of see him grow.”
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Los Angeles Laker guard Bronny James Jr. (9) dunks against Houston Rockets center Orlando Robinson (59) during the first half of an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Los Angeles Laker guard Bronny James Jr. (9) looks on during the first half of an NBA summer league basketball game against the Houston Rockets, Friday, July 12, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
Los Angeles Laker guard Bronny James Jr. (9) drives the ball against the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 12, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
ROME (AP) — Human rights groups voiced outrage Wednesday after Italy released a Libyan warlord on a technicality, after he was arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Court accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Hague-based court, for its part, issued a more diplomatic response but its anger appeared evident. In a stern statement late Wednesday, the ICC reminded Italy that it is obliged to “cooperate fully” with its prosecutions and said it was still awaiting information about what exactly Rome had done.
The reaction came after the Italian government on Tuesday released and sent back home Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, who heads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centers run by the government-backed Special Defense Force.
Al-Masri had been arrested Sunday in Turin, where he reportedly had attended the Juventus-Milan soccer match the night before. The ICC warrant, dated the day before, accused al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Mitiga prison in Libya starting in 2015 that are punishable with life in prison.
The ICC said he was accused of murder, torture, rape and sexual violence. It said the warrant was transmitted to member states on Saturday, including Italy, and that the court had also provided real-time information that he had entered Europe.
The court said it had reminded Italy at the time to contact it “without delay” if it ran into any problems cooperating with the warrant.
But Rome’s court of appeals ordered al-Masri freed Tuesday, and he was sent back to Libya aboard an aircraft of the Italian secret services, because of what the appeals court said was a procedural error in his arrest. The ruling said Justice Minister Carlo Nordio should have been informed ahead of time, since the justice ministry handles all relations with the ICC.
The ICC said it had not been given prior notice of the Rome court's decision, as required, and “is seeking, and is yet to obtain, verification from the authorities on the steps reportedly taken.”
Al-Masri returned to Tripoli late Tuesday, received at the Mitiga airport by supporters who celebrated his release, according to local media. Footage circulated online showed dozens of young men chanting and carrying what appeared to be al-Masri on their shoulders.
“This is a stunning blow to victims, survivors and international justice and a missed opportunity to break the cycle of impunity in Libya,” said Amnesty International’s Esther Major, deputy director of research for Europe.
Nordio appeared in the Senate on Wednesday for a previously-scheduled briefing, and was grilled by outraged opposition lawmakers who demanded clarity about what happened. Former Premier Matteo Renzi accused the right-wing government of hypocrisy given its stated crackdown on human traffickers.
“But when a trafficker whom the International Criminal Court tells us is a dangerous criminal lands on your table, it’s not like you chase him down, you brought him home to Libya with a plane of the Italian secret services,” said Renzi of the Italia Viva party. “Either you’ve gone crazy or this is the image of a hypocritical, indecent government.”
The Democratic Party demanded Premier Giorgia Meloni respond specifically to parliament about the case, saying it raised “grave questions” given the known abuses in Libyan prisons for which al-Masri is accused. Nordio didn't respond.
Italy has close ties to the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, on whom it relies to patrol its coasts and prevent waves of migrants from leaving. Any trial in The Hague of al-Masri could bring unwanted attention to Italy’s migration policies and its support of the Libyan coast guard, which it has financed to prevent migrants from leaving.
Human rights groups have documented gross abuses in the Libyan detention facilities where migrants are kept, and have accused Italy of being complicit in their mistreatment.
Two humanitarian groups, Mediterranea Saving Humans and Refugees in Libya, which have documented abuses committed against migrants in Libyan detention facilities, said they were incredulous that Italy let al-Masri go.
David Yambio, a 27-year-old from South Sudan who said he was abused by al-Masri while he was detained at the Mitiga prison in 2019-2020, said he felt betrayed by Italy. Yambio, who eventually escaped from the prison and arrived in Italy on a smuggler’s boat in 2022, said he had a “fleeting feeling of justice” when he heard that al-Masri had been arrested in Turin.
“Those who waited long before me, the Libyans who are victims of his criminal network, his war crimes, have been wanting for this day to come,” said Yambio, who received asylum and now lives in Modena and runs his Refugees in Libya advocacy group. “But when it came, it was immediately extinguished hours before it could even truly be felt in our hearts.”
But Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist working with the Belaady Organization for Human Rights which focuses on migrants in Libya, said Italy’s release of al-Masri was expected. He said his release shows the power of militias who control the flow of migrants to Europe through Libya’s shores.
“Tripoli militias are able to pressure (Italy) because they control the migrants file,” he told The Associated Press.
Militias in western Libya are part of the official state forces tasked with intercepting migrants at sea, including in the EU-trained coast guard. They also run state detention centers, where abuses of migrants are common.
As a result, militias — some of them led by warlords the U.N. has sanctioned for abuses — benefit from millions in funds the European Union gives to Libya to stop the migrant flow to Europe.
The European Commission spokesman reaffirmed all EU members had pledged to cooperate with the court.
“We respect the court’s impartiality and we are fully attached to international criminal justice to combat impunity," said EU commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni. In a 2023 summit, the EU leaders committed “to cooperate fully with the court, including rapid execution of any pending arrests,” he added.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Paolo Santalucia in Rome and Molly Quell in The Hague contributed.
FILE - View of the ICC, the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi makes his remarks during Justice Minister Carlo Nordio's appearance at the Senate for the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi makes his remarks during Justice Minister Carlo Nordio's appearance at the Senate for the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio addresses the Senate during the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio puts his hand to his head during the presentation of the report on the justice administration, at the Senate, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio addresses the Senate during the report on the justice administration, in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Roberto Monaldo//LaPresse via AP)