LeBron James’ son Bronny James was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday, June, 27.
With the pick, LeBron, 39, and Bronny, 19, officially become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time. What’s more, the pair will play for the same franchise.
Bronny is the eldest son of LeBron, 39, and wife Savannah James, who tied the knot in September 2013. The couple are also parents of son Bryce, 17, and daughter Zhuri, 9.
Bronny’s college basketball career at the University of Southern California was briefly put on hold when he collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest during a July 2023 practice session. The James family later shared in a statement that the cardiac arrest was caused by an “anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect,” which Bronny underwent surgery to correct.
Bronny made his collegiate debut as a USC Trojan in December 2023. In April, he announced his intentions to enter the 2024 NBA Draft, and the following month, he was medically cleared to take part in the draft.
While Bronny was once considered a top prospect for the 2024 draft, his health issues and his freshman season stats led some forecasters to predict he would not be selected this year. After he was dropped from ESPN’s draft projections in February, LeBron defended his son.
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“Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball,” LeBron wrote in a series of since-deleted X posts. “The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do.”
He added: “If y’all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!”
LeBron concluded by questioning the importance of the projections and encouraging other up-and-coming basketball players to focus on their passion for the game.
“And to all the other kids out there striving to be great just keep your head down, blinders on and keep grinding,” he noted. “These Mock Drafts doesn’t matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE! ✌🏾👑.”
LeBron, who has been playing for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018, has expressed his desire to compete in the NBA alongside Bronny on multiple occasions, telling ESPN in October 2023, “I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny.”
“Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him,” LeBron continued. “I don’t mean like [guarding him all game] because he’s a point guard and I’m at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”