LeBron James and his son, Bronny James, are on the brink of making NBA history as the first father-son duo to share the court for the same team. This dream, first hinted at by LeBron years ago, is now closer to becoming a reality.
Bronny James, the eldest son of the NBA's all-time scoring leader and four-time champion, was drafted on Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team his father has played for since 2018. Bronny was selected with the 55th overall pick, deep in the second round of this year’s draft.
During his time at USC, Bronny had limited college basketball experience but showed promise. As the second round progressed, ESPN reported that Rich Paul, the agent representing both LeBron and Bronny, was advising teams against drafting Bronny. “Rich Paul is calling teams [telling them] don’t take Bronny James,” said Bob Myers, former GM of the Golden State Warriors, during ESPN’s draft broadcast. “If you take him, he
’s going to Australia.” Now, Bronny is heading to Los Angeles.LeBron James and Bronny James become the first father and son duo to be in the NBA at the same time.
— NBA (@NBA) June 27, 2024
Now they are teammates on the Lakers! pic.twitter.com/dITQ4WQ9RA
"Beyond blessed," Bronny James expressed in an Instagram post.
Adding to the intrigue, LeBron James can become a free agent next week, which means he could leave the Lakers and sign elsewhere. “In the history of the NBA, there’s never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court, and that feels like something that could be magical,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “We know and have to respect, of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out ... but if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made. And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.”
This draft move doesn’t guarantee that father and son will play together, nor does it ensure Bronny will be on the Lakers' roster next season. However, it certainly raises the possibility of an unprecedented father-son duo in the NBA. While there have been instances of players joining the league after their fathers, those have always occurred at least five years after the father’s career ended.
“I don’t want to hear the charges, people talking about nepotism,” Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don’t want to hear about it all of a sudden because Bronny James’s father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league.”
LeBron's remarkable longevity – he will tie Vince Carter for the longest NBA career ever next season, his 22nd – makes this father-son duo possible. “With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Bronny James from the University of Southern California,” announced NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum, making the moment official for the 19-year-old, who was born just before his father's second NBA season.
Bronny, listed as 6ft 4in at USC but measuring 6ft 1in at the draft combine, would be one of the shortest players in the NBA. Despite this, his athleticism and defensive skills have earned him this opportunity. “Bronny is, first and foremost, a person of high character,” Pelinka said. “And second, he is a young man that works incredibly hard. Those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental corps at the Lakers.”
In his single college season at USC, Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game over 25 games. He missed the start of the season due to a procedure for a congenital heart defect discovered after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout. He was cleared for NBA play last month.
Despite being the 55th pick, which rarely garners much attention, Bronny’s selection has captured significant interest. Notable 55th picks in NBA history include Miami Heat guard Patty Mills and two-time All-NBA center Marc Gasol, but no player selected at this position has ever been an NBA All-Star, All-NBA player, or All-Defensive team pick.
Still, many starter-caliber players and even future Hall of Famers have been found in the second round. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić was the 41st pick by the Denver Nuggets in 2014, and Manu Ginóbili, one of the most skilled guards in league history, was the 57th overall pick in 1999, later being elected into the Hall of Fame in 2022
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