LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. will take his talents to Los Angeles, where he’ll have history with his father.
James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, wasn’t selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft but was selected 55th overall by his father’s Lakers on Thursday. When the two take the court together, it will mark the first time in NBA history that a father and son will play together.
The 6-foot-2 guard out of the University of Southern California was the subject of much buzz even before the draft. While much of the buzz was due to his last name, his game has steadily improved over the years, preparing him for this moment.
Yahoo Sports NBA Draft analyst Kristen Peek projects James to be selected 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“While James is far from a finished product, he proved himself as a promising player at the Combine and deserves to be included in this draft class. He showed he can shoot the ball well and has the ability to score in the lane with a floater,” Peak wrote in his latest mock draft.
Despite sharing genes with one of the greatest basketball players of all time, draft experts didn’t rate James as highly as they did when his father was the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. One reason for that is James’ disappointing freshman season at USC. The guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists but shot below 40 percent from the field. Add in a disappointing Trojans team and it’s clear that James’ first and final collegiate season didn’t go to plan.
On July 25, James collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest during a USC basketball practice. He was hospitalized and remained in stable condition before being released three days later. The health scare delayed his preparations for the college season. He was unable to practice until late November and played in his first collegiate game in December.
James has shown flashes of potential this year, with one of his best performances being a 15-point performance against Oregon State early in the season.
The freshman scored in double figures just three times, and for every jaw-dropping fast-break dunk that reminded fans and scouts of his basketball pedigree, it was accompanied by some head-scratching shots and on-court decisions that called into question James’ legitimacy as an NBA prospect.
“If his name was Joe Thomas, we wouldn’t be talking about him,” an NBA executive told the New York Post. “He’s an undersized combo guard who won’t develop much, but he knows how to play the game very well. He’s not a great ball-handler, but he’s a shaky shooter, he’s a strong vertical player and he’s a decent defender right now.”
Despite the hesitation from many scouts and executives, history has shown that the sons of NBA players often outperform their draft position.
“Maybe they ranked him lower because they didn’t want to rank him higher because of his father,” an anonymous Eastern Conference GM told Tom Haberstraw of Yahoo Sports.
Haberstraw has noticed a trend where players like Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, whose father is involved in the league, sometimes go on to become All-Star caliber players.
“When discussing Bronny’s status as a candidate, it’s worth pointing out that the success of second-generation players like Brunson is the rule, not the exception. Jalen Brunson (No. 33, 2018, son of Rick), Domantas Sabonis (No. 11, 2016, son of Arvydas) and Stephen Curry (No. 7, 2009, son of Dell) have exceeded expectations. Not to mention perennial All-Stars Kobe Bryant (No. 13, 1996, son of Joe “Jellybean” Bryant), Klay Thompson (No. 11, 2011, son of Michael) and Devin Booker (No. 13, 2015, son of Melvin) didn’t even crack the top 10.”
Bronny James’ pre-draft process had some mixed messages
Many believed James would be drafted after his father told The Athletic in 2022 that he wanted to play in the league with his son before retiring.
“My final year is going to be with my son,” LeBron said at the time. “Wherever Bronny is, I’m going to be there. I’d do anything to get to play one more year with my son. It’s not going to be about the money then.”
LeBron has since backtracked a bit on his comments, and his agent, Rich Paul, who also represents Bronny James, said the 39-year-old has “moved away from the idea that he has to play with Bronny.”
“If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t,” Paul told ESPN. “If the Lakers drafted Bronny with the 55th pick, I don’t think he’d be a good fit.” [LeBron] “He will re-sign. If he does, I would force them to take him at 17th. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny and LeBron won’t re-sign. LeBron won’t go to Phoenix on a minimum contract. We can squash that now. There are other teams that like Bronny.”
That’s what Paul said publicly. Things may have been different in private. When the second round ended, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who now works as an anchor for ESPN, said Paul called teams and told them that if they drafted Bronny, he’d play in Australia instead.
It meant that Paul had a specific destination in mind, which now seems clearly to have come to pass.
James finished his high school career as a four-star freshman recruit and McDonald’s All-American at Sierra Canyon High School. The guard averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals his senior year of high school.
