LAS VEGAS, NV — It took them six games, but Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers earned their first win of Summer League on Wednesday night. It's not a coincidence that it came in the game LeBron James' son put forth his best individual offensive performance.

The Lakers defeated the Hawks, 87-86, behind a dominant 17-point, 12-rebound, six-assist, and two-steal performance by big man Colin Castleton on 8-of-9 shooting. Bronny James finished third on the team in scoring with 12 points, one rebound, and one steal on 5-of-11 shooting.

“Nothing changed,” Bronny James said when asked what was different in tonight's game. “Just going out there and playing my game. I feel like I know the right way to play, so if I go out there and play my game every game, then results like that will come.”

Bronny James Battling Shooting Struggles

The shooting struggles had been apparent. James had missed 16 straight three-pointers across five games before knocking down two of his final four three-point attempts on Wednesday night. There's been a heavy focus on Bronny as he tries to navigate the beginning of his NBA career.

No 55th pick in league history has commanded this type of attention from media. Even during games, fans pack the Thomas & Mack Center in hopes of watching Bronny James play well, and it's not just Lakers fans. Every time he touches the ball, they start cheering. Every time he misses, they groan a little louder than the previous missed shot. And every time he scores, they erupt to cheer him on.

“Just having the support system behind you [has helped],” Bronny added. “My mom, my dad really helped me, encouraging me to stay focused, and keep being myself so I feel like a big part of keeping my mind right.

“It's… something. But it's something I've got to deal with to play at this level.”

Despite being thousands of miles away in Abu Dhabi with Team USA preparing for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Bronny James says that his dad, LeBron James, has been watching all of his Summer League games and providing him with pieces of advice throughout the tournament.

“[He’s telling me] stay aggressive,” the Lakers guard revealed. “Even though my shot hasn't been falling, just to stay aggressive.”

Bronny James knocked down his second three-pointer with 3:47 left, tying the game at 79 apiece. The Lakers would go on to win behind a few buckets by Maxwell Lewis and Colin Castleton.

Lakers Summer League head coach Dane Johnson said he's happy with the work Bronny has put forth on the defensive end and knows that shots will go down eventually.

“Just continue to talk to him and just watch his shots,” Johnson said of Bronny dealing with the mental aspect of multiple missed shots in a row. “They're good shots, open shots. He had some last game, he had a couple hard ones because it was at the end of the shot clock, but tonight, he made some kick-out threes, open threes, catch-and-shoots. And then just he got a little more aggressive just attacking a little bit more too so just finding that and building on that, getting more reps through it.”

Bronny James and the Lakers will play on the second night of a back-to-back tomorrow night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They'll then wrap up their Summer League play with a 4PM PST matchup against Matas Buzelis and the Chicago Bulls on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, LeBron James and Team USA will head to London where they'll play another pair of exhibition games in their final tuneup for the Olympic Games.