Bronny James was overcome with emotion after being drafted by his father’s Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick of the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Video surfaced on social media after the draft showing LeBron’s eldest son seated and watching NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum on a monitor during the proceedings.
‘The Los Angeles Lakers select,’ Tatum said before giving a dramatic pause and saying: ‘Bronny James.’
Pictured in a brown suit with a large, bejeweled broach on the lapel, Bronny appeared to cry as he bit his lower lip and accepted a Lakers hat that was being handed to him from off screen.
It’s unclear where the USC product was watching the draft, but he was seen in New York earlier on Thursday.
Pictured in a brown suit with a large, bejeweled broach on the lapel, Bronny appeared to cry as he bit his lower lip after learning that he would be joining his father with the Lakers
LeBron James shouts at Bronny during USC’s game against Cal in February of 2024
‘In the history of the NBA, there’s never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court and that feels like something that could be magical,’ Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said afterwards.
Interestingly, LeBron’s future with the Lakers is somewhat clouded, given that he can opt out of the final year and $51 million of his deal this week to become a free agent.
However, the Lakers can offer the four-time MVP a three-year maximum deal worth $161 million, and with his son on board, that might be too much for LeBron to turn down.
‘We know, and have to respect of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out,’ Pelinka said. ‘But if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made. And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.’
LeBron ‘Bronny’ James Jr. of Sierra Canyon High School with his father LeBron in 2019
The pick comes after weeks of speculation about where Bronny would be selected in the NBA Draft. Some saw him as a potential first-round pick, while others thought he should go undrafted.
Bronny’s single season of college basketball turned out to be a major letdown after the McDonald’s All-American suffered cardiac arrest while practicing in July of 2023. He was cleared to return to the court, but averaged only 19.4 minutes over 25 games for the Trojans, while scoring just 4.8 points per outing.
But the LA Lakers decided that they’d seen enough and selected the 19-year-old anyway despite his limited experience and stats from college.
An inevitable debate about nepotism in the NBA erupted after Bronny was picked by the Lakers.
‘I don’t want to hear the charges, people talking about nepotism,’ Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN. ‘The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching.’
Meanwhile, co-host Stephen A. Smith nodded in agreement and echoed ‘full of it’ as Wojnarowski made his remarks.
‘I don’t want to hear about it – all of a sudden – because Bronny James’ father plays for the Lakers,’ the NBA insider continued. ‘It is rampant in this league.’
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