The Los Angeles Lakers made NBA history during the second round of the NBA draft on Thursday.
The Lakers’ front office used the team’s final pick — the 55th pick in the draft — to unite former USC player Bronny James with his father, Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Senior NBA insider for The Athletic Shams Charania posted on social media platform X, revealing the news just after the selection took place Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers are selecting Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, sources say. LeBron and Bronny James to become the first ever father-son duo to be in the NBA at the same time. pic.twitter.com/CyewBHNswz
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
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“The Los Angeles Lakers are selecting Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, sources say,” Charania wrote.
“LeBron and Bronny James to become the first ever father-son duo to be in the NBA at the same time.”
During his one season at USC, the 19-year-old averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in just under 20 minutes per game, according to ESPN.
The superstar’s son had missed the first part of the college season due to a cardiac arrest he suffered during a workout in July 2023.
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Media speculation had been building for months that the Lakers would end up drafting their star’s son.
In a much-talked-about interview from 2022, the elder James told The Athletic one of his final career goals was to play alongside his son.
In fact, at the time, James made it clear he would be going to whatever team drafted his son to play out his final season.
“My last year will be played with my son,” James told the outlet.
“Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
The 2022 comments ramped up speculation that many teams might try to draft Bronny James to lure the superstar to their rosters.
However, in recent weeks, the likelihood such a move would be made began to look doubtful.
According to the New York Post, the younger James’s agent, Rich Paul, warned other teams not to draft his client.
If a team Bronny didn’t want to play for were to select him, Paul warned that his client would then opt to play basketball in Australia rather than the NBA.
