The Los Angeles Lakers have selected Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, raising the likelihood that the former USC Trojan will take the court with his father, future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James.
Bronny, aka LeBron James Jr., played one year at the University of Southern California, a college career that was significantly shortened after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice.
He was able to return to the court within a few months but struggled to make an impact for a Trojans squad that went 15-18 and finished 9th in the Pac 12. Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game in his lone college season.
He will now join the Los Angeles Lakers and have the opportunity to play alongside his father.
LeBron James Sr. has long voiced his interest in playing with one, or both, of his sons before hanging up his boots.
The elder James is expected to opt out of his current deal with the Lakers, and the drafting of his son is seen as an incentive to get the NBA’s all-time leading scorer to return for his year-40 season and likely retire as a Laker.
While not a heralded prospect in the NBA Draft this season, Bronny was a 4-star recruit coming out of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth before committing to USC.
He doesn’t have his father’s game-breaking size or athleticism, but he’s considered an active and willing defender with excellent court vision — not unlike his pops. It also doesn’t hurt that he shares DNA with one of the game’s all-time greats.
NBA experts have said his path to carving out a role in the league will likely depend on his ability to defend and make plays for others.
The Lakers finished the 2023-24 season with a 47-35 record and a loss to the then-defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs.
In addition to Bronny, the Lakers also selected Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht with the 17th overall pick in the draft, a move that was considered to be among the most fortuitous in the entre league, with some expecting the SEC Player of the Year to be drafted much earlier.
Knecht and James Jr. will be the first crop of rookies to play under new head coach -and his dad’s former podcast co-host- JJ Redick, who was named the franchise’s 26th head coach in history after Darvin Ham was dismissed at the conclusion of last season.