Bronny James Drafted To LeBron's Lakers, First Father-son Duo In NBA History

LeBron and Bronny have done it.

The world’s greatest player was able to stay in the game long enough and be successful enough to have his very own firstborn son, Bronny James, be drafted by the LA Lakers, James’ same team. The historical night was thanks to Bronny being called as the 55th pick in the second round of the draft Thursday night.

Bronny James has a real chance now to play alongside James, who is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer

Bronny reacted to being drafted with a post on his Instagram story, saying, “Beyond Blessed.”

“Bronny is first and foremost a person of high character. And secondly, he’s a young man who works incredibly hard,” Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental core at the Lakers. He had a great draft workout with us where he displayed those qualities.”

“In terms of his work ethic, we’ve all seen that lived out, too. He’s not a person who has ever taken shortcuts or expected or been entitled about basketball opportunities.”

Bronny, though, hasn’t gotten to this point without adversity. In July of 2023, the 19-year-old was hospitalized after a cardiac arrest amid a basketball practice at USC. He then missed the first eight games of the season because of recovering from a medical procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.

Many folks are saying he doesn’t belong in the league. But he was in the McDonald’s High School All-American game in 2023 and was the No. 20 prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2023; he also dropped 15 points in the game and shot well.

All these years LeBron has been wanting to play with his son. Now it’s really about to happen.

“My last year will be played with my son,” James told the Athletic in 2022. “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.”

Bronny will have a chance to make his first debut during the 2024 NBA Sumer League starting July 12.

Photo Credit: Instagram - @KingJames