Southern California’s Bronny James brings the ball up the court docket in the course of the first half of an NCAA faculty basketball recreation in opposition to Washington within the first spherical of the Pac-12 event Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Picture/File)
It was the dream that LeBron James first floated just a few years in the past, the notion of taking part in within the NBA alongside one in every of his sons.
And it’s a step nearer to actuality now.
Bronny James — the oldest son of the NBA’s all-time scoring chief and four-time champion — was drafted Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the crew that his father has performed for since 2018. Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 total choose, deep within the second spherical and with solely three picks remaining in this 12 months’s draft.
Including additional intrigue to the transfer: LeBron James can develop into a free agent subsequent week, which suggests he may select to depart the Lakers and signal elsewhere.
The draft transfer doesn’t assure that father and son will really play in a recreation collectively, nor does it even assure that Bronny James can be on the Lakers’ roster subsequent season. But it surely actually raises the chance that it may occur in what could be an NBA first — a father-son on-court duo within the league concurrently as gamers. There have been about 100 situations in NBA historical past of gamers becoming a member of the league after their fathers performed, however these all the time got here no less than 5 years after the daddy’s profession ended.
However LeBron James’ unimaginable longevity — he’ll match Vince Carter for the longest profession as an NBA participant ever this coming season, which can be his twenty second within the league — makes the father-son duo potential.
“With the fifty fifth choose within the 2024 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers choose Bronny James from the College of Southern California,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum mentioned in saying the choose, making the second official for the 19-year-old, who was born simply earlier than the beginning of his father’s second NBA season.
Bronny James is a guard, one who was listed at 6-foot-4 on Southern California’s roster however measured at 6 toes, 1 1/2 inches on the draft mix. That might make him one of many shortest gamers within the NBA, however his athleticism and defensive means helped give him this chance.
He performed one 12 months of faculty basketball at USC and averaged 4.8 factors, 2.8 rebounds and a couple of.1 assists per recreation final season. He performed in 25 video games, lacking the beginning of the season after needing a process final 12 months to repair what was recognized as a congenital coronary heart defect, which was discovered after he went into cardiac arrest throughout a summer time exercise.
A panel of medical doctors cleared Bronny James for NBA play final month.
Day 2 of the draft noticed 24 different gamers get taken earlier than Bronny James, although none of them — not even shut, actually — acquired the eye that the No. 55 choice obtained, for apparent causes.
The fifty fifth choose not often seems to be a participant who captures a slew of consideration. The most effective fifty fifth choose in NBA historical past could be present Miami Warmth guard Patty Mills, chosen in 2009 and somebody who has scored 7,893 factors in his 15-season profession.
Another notable No. 55 picks embody Marc Iavaroni, Mark Blount, Kenny Gattison and E’Twaun Moore. There’s by no means been a No. 55 choose that was an NBA All-Star, an All-NBA participant, an All-Rookie crew participant or an All-Defensive crew choose.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please strive once more.
Your subscription has been profitable.
Final season’s No. 55 choose, Isaiah Wong, scored precisely two factors for Indiana as a rookie. Add up each No. 55 choose ever, and their NBA profession scoring complete is 28,364 factors — greater than 12,000 factors lower than LeBron James has scored in his profession.