After weeks of turning heads in the NBA G League, Kobe Bufkin has earned a call-up to a team in dire need of his abilities. The Lakers signed Bufkin to a ten-day contract ahead of tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, according to The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
Lakers Shore Up Bench By Signing Explosive G League Scorer
Background on Bufkin
The 15th overall pick by the Hawks in 2023, Bufkin received limited opportunities in two seasons with Atlanta. Across 27 career games (12 minutes per contest), he averaged five points, two rebounds and 1.6 assists on less than desirable shooting splits (.374/.220/.654). This offseason, the Hawks traded him to the Brooklyn Nets, who waived him in October. Bufkin joined the South Bay Lakers shortly after, and has starred for them ever since.
Bufkin, who averaged 28.5 points across two seasons with Atlanta’s G League affiliate, brought that same aggressiveness to South Bay. In just seven regular-season outings so far, he’s averaged a league-leading 28.7 points, along with 5.4 rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 54% from the field, 39% from three and 89% from the free-throw line. He previously earned a call-up to the Memphis Grizzlies in November, but did not take the floor for the injury-laden squad.
Bufkin Brings Two-Way Talent to LA
Bufkin’s signing is welcome news for Laker fans, regardless of whether or not they’ve followed the team’s G League affiliate. He most recently delivered a 37-point masterclass despite a loss to the Austin Spurs on Jan. 9, stuffing the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Performances like that quickly put him on fans’ radars, with some clamoring for LA to sign him this season. The Lakers finally granted that wish at just the perfect time.
The team is in the middle of a jam-packed week, playing four more games in the next six days. Monday’s loss to the Kings exposed one of the Lakers’ biggest flaws: finding any other source of scoring besides Luka Doncic and LeBron James. The duo combined for 64 of LA’s 112 points. Adding insult to injury, the team’s second unit had no answer for former Laker Malik Monk, who torched them for 26 points while they mustered 32 combined. Bufkin’s offensive firepower should at least ease the burden, but it’s his defensive mentality that should receive just as much attention.
Bufkin is a solid, agile defender who can guard at the point of attack while causing havoc as a helper. This season with South Bay, he averaged 1.6 steals per game and 1.7 blocks. While speaking to CutchPoints in November, Bufkin acknowledged that defense would be key toward giving him his next NBA opportunity.
“I’m still a young guy, I got to make an impact somehow, got to stand out somehow, and that’s one of the ways. Everybody knows that if you’re young, you got to stand out in that category. That’s just something I try to do every time I step on the court.”
The Last Word
Bufkin is not going to solve every problem with the Lakers’ second unit. Still, it’s encouraging to see the Lakers giving him a well-deserved opportunity, as he looks to make an immediate impact on both ends of the floor.
The Lakers battle the Atlanta Hawks tonight at 7:30 p.m. PT.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic are both questionable tonight. Jaxson Hayes is out pic.twitter.com/2he5Eq3KOB
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 13, 2026
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