Bronny James, the 19-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, was selected 55th overall by the Lakers in Thursday’s second round of the NBA Draft, setting up the first father-son combination in NBA history.
It is a dream come true for four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, who said for years he dreamed of playing alongside his son.
“In the history of the NBA, there has never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “That feels like something that could be magical.”
Photo: AFP
LeBron, a 39-year-old Lakers playmaker and four-time NBA champion, will be busy on the US team at the Paris Olympics next month while son Bronny is set to join the Lakers in NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas.
LeBron James posted photos on Instagram with the one-word caption “LEGACY!!!!!!” and images of himself with Bronny as a child, of both of them dunking and another with father and son side-by-side in Lakers jerseys.
Bronny James, a guard for the University of Southern California (USC), averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Trojans last season after a stellar high-school career and also impressed scouts at an NBA combine.
At a practice session in July last year, USC freshman Bronny James collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect.
The teenager was released from the hospital a few days later and doctors approved him playing both in US college basketball and, last month, in the NBA.
“Congratulations to Bronny James on being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers!” Lakers legend Magic Johnson said. “This is a historic moment... Watching Bronny suit up for the @Lakers during Summer League in Vegas will be must-see TV!”
The younger James is seen as a top defensive prospect with elite athletic skills and strong instincts for the game, but might need time to develop fully as an NBA player.
“We’re excited to see this story unfold,” said Pelinka, who said new Lakers coach J.J. Redick is already planning how to make Bronny better.
“It’s an honor for us to add him to our program,” Pelinka said. “Coach Redick is already excited about putting a development plan around him to increase his basketball skills and turn him into a player we think can impact and help this franchise.”
LeBron James had until today to opt into the final year of his Lakers contract or become a free agent, which could set up a new Lakers deal. The status gave him options should Bronny James have ended up elsewhere in the NBA.
“We know and have to respect that LeBron has a decision about his opt out and I’m sure he and his family will decide what they are going to do there,” Pelinka said. “If it worked out that he was on our team next season, history could be made — and NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.”
The Lakers owned the fourth-to-last NBA Draft selection and there was concern other clubs might use a higher pick on Bronny James, to see if they could swing a trade deal with the Lakers for Bronny James or the pick.
ESPN reported agent Rich Paul warned clubs against picking Bronny James, saying he would go to Australia before dealing with some teams.
The Phoenix Suns, who did not own a second-round pick due to a free agency tampering violation, were the only team other than the Lakers to have a workout with Bronny James ahead of the draft.
Pelinka said character and work ethic were more important factors than ancestry for the Lakers.
“Bronny is first and foremost a person of high character and second he’s a young man that works incredibly hard and those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental core of the Lakers,” Pelinka said.
“In terms of his work ethic, I think we’ve all seen that lived out too. He’s not a person that has ever taken short cuts, or expected or been entitled about basketball opportunities. He has worked for everything he has gotten, including being selected today at 55,” Pelinka added.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS