Bronny James selected by Lakers with No. 55 pick in NBA Draft to join LeBron

NEW YORK — Years of speculation is finally over. Bronny James, the eldest son of Lakers star LeBron James, indeed has a home in the NBA, on his father’s team.

Bronny James, one of the most closely watched amateur basketball players of the past decade, was drafted 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. The selection followed 12 long months of guesswork about James’ place in the game, including questions about whether he could compete professionally after suffering a cardiac arrest.

“It’s always been my dream to get my name out there, make a name for myself and obviously get into the NBA,” James said in May during the NBA Draft Combine.

Bronny: Los Angeles Laker. pic.twitter.com/TvhkzEs9sO

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 27, 2024

The Lakers went 47-35 last season and fell to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. LeBron averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in his 21st season. He has until Saturday to extend his current deal with the Lakers, or he can opt out and sign a new deal as a free agent in July. The maximum new contract he can sign is three years and $162 million.

Bronny turned pro after just one year in Southern California, where he averaged 4.8 points and 19.3 minutes in 25 games and struggled with his shooting touch. He entered college as the 17th-best prospect in his high school class, according to the consensus rankings, but even as he struggled, he carried the lure of his father’s dream of one day playing in the NBA with him.

That idea had been seriously questioned a year ago. James collapsed last July during a USC workout with cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect. He was hospitalized for about two days, and James’ family soon said they were confident he would recover. Yet James himself said at the meeting last month that the episode had left him devastated, with lasting effects.

Bronny James is selected 55th overall @Lakers in 2024 #NBADraft presented by State Farm!

Watch the second round on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/BnxozT7CGj

—NBA (@NBA) June 27, 2024

“It sticks,” he said. “I feel like my parents were a big factor in believing in me and giving me the love and affection that I needed at that time. But I still think about everything that could happen. I just love so a lot of the game.”

James’ improved health and his presence on the court have reignited discussions about whether he was talented enough to be drafted. That conversation in basketball circles and beyond took on a new dimension when LeBron James said two years ago that he wanted to finish his career with father and son together on the same team. “My senior year will be played with my son,” LeBron James said when the Lakers visited the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted him in 2003 at the age of 18.

“Wherever Bronny is, I’ll be there. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for a year,” LeBron James said in February 2022.

LeBron James plays with his sons Bryce and now teammate Bronny during 2010 All-Star weekend. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Since then, Bronny has attached that hope to his prospects. Teams and media have speculated about how James’ draft stock might be affected by his father’s desires. The easy, often-asked question: Would a team use Bronny as a means to lure LeBron?

Bronny James only trained for two teams, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Rich Paul, his agent at Klutch Sports, said James would not sign a two-way contract, a common move for developing players.

James said he was confident he would be called up based on his own qualities.

These two are now teammates in the NBA.@King James x Bronny | @Lakers photo.twitter.com/MyWiJ8tfaW

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 27, 2024

“This is a serious matter, and I don’t think there would be a thought of, ‘I’m drafting this kid just because I’m going to get his dad,’” he said last month. “I don’t think any GM would really allow that.”

He added: “I worked hard for it and I would be drafted, not just because of the player but because of the person I am.”

Now James has that spot in the NBA and the chance, like many of his peers, to show that he can build his own career and name. It’s all he ever asked for.

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(Photo: Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)