NBA draft: Bronny James unites with father LeBron at LA Lakers

LeBron James and his son Bronny James will become the first-ever father-son duo to share the floor for the same NBA team. It was a dream LeBron James first floated a few years ago, the idea of ​​playing in the NBA with one of his sons.

And it is now one step closer to reality.

Bronny James — the eldest son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and four-time champion — was drafted on Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team his father has played for since 2018. Bronny James was selected with the 55th overall pick, deep in the second round and with just three picks remaining in this year’s draft.

As the second round continued, ESPN reported that Rich Paul, who represents both father and son, called teams to tell them not to draft Bronny. “Rich Paul calls teams [telling them] “Don’t take Bronny James,” former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers said during ESPN’s draft broadcast. “If you take him, he’s going to Australia.”

Now he’s going to Los Angeles.

What makes the move even more intriguing: LeBron James could become a free agent next week, meaning he could choose to leave the Lakers and sign elsewhere.

The draft move doesn’t guarantee that father and son will actually play in a game together, nor does it guarantee that Bronny James will be on the Lakers’ roster next season. But it certainly raises the possibility that it could happen in what would be a first for the NBA: a father-son duo on the court in the league, at the same time as players. There have been about 100 cases in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played, but they always came at least five years after the father’s career ended.

“I don’t want to hear the accusations, people talking about nepotism,” Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership, the front offices, the coaching. I don’t want to hear about it because Bronny James’ dad plays for the Lakers. It’s rampant in this league.”

But LeBron James’ incredible longevity — he ties Vince Carter for the longest career NBA player ever this season, which will be his 22nd in the league — makes the 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,” NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said in announcing the pick, making the second pick official for the 19 year old. was born just before the start of his father’s second NBA season.

Bronny James is a guard, someone who was listed at 6’1″ by USC but was 6’1″ at the draft combine. That would make him one of the smallest players in the NBA, but his athleticism and defensive skills helped earn him this opportunity.

He played one year of college basketball at USC and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in 25 games but missed the beginning of the season after requiring surgery last year to repair what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, which was discovered after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout.

A panel of doctors cleared Bronny James for NBA games last month.

On the second day of the draft, 24 other players were picked ahead of Bronny James, but none of them – actually not even close – got the attention that the selection at No. 55 did, for obvious reasons.

The 55th pick rarely turns out to be a player who draws a lot of attention. The best 55th pick in NBA history is Miami Heat guard Patty Mills, selected in 2009. He has scored 7,893 points in his 15-season career.

Some other notable No. 55 picks include Marc Iavaroni, Mark Blount, Kenny Gattison and E’Twaun Moore. There has never been a No. 55 pick who has been an NBA All-Star, an All-NBA player, an All-Rookie Team player or an All-Defensive Team pick.

Last season’s No. 55 pick, Isaiah Wong, scored exactly two points for Indiana as a rookie. Add up all the No. 55 picks ever and their NBA career total is 28,364 points – more than 12,000 fewer points than LeBron James has scored in his career.

Still, plenty of starting quality players, and even future Hall of Famers, have been discovered in the second round. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić was selected with the 41st pick by the Denver Nuggets in 2014. Two-time All-NBA center Marc Gasol was selected with the 48th pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007. Many Ginóbili, one of the most accomplished guards in league history, was the 57th overall pick in the 1999 draft.