Lakers’ LeBron James gets emotional after Bronny James’ reality hits home

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has accomplished a lot during his incredible basketball career, but he was extremely proud the moment he heard that his eldest son, Bronny James, was finally joining the NBA.

The Lakers used a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to acquire Bronny, who spent just one season in college with the USC Trojans. On Sunday night, James grew emotional as he thought about Bronny successfully achieving an NBA dream — the same one his father accomplished more than two decades ago.

“With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. The Los Angeles Lakers select……. Bronny James. 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲. Just had a moment!”, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player posted on social media app formerly known as Twitter).

The LeBron James-Bronny James Lakers duo is now a fact

Regardless of where you stand on Bronny’s move to the NBA, whether it was more due to his father’s influence than his actual potential to become a pro player, it’s easy to see why LeBron is incredibly excited about it. It’s one thing to see your son make it to the NBA. For LeBron, he’s simply on a different level of happiness, as he also gets the chance to play alongside Bronny. It’s something that hasn’t happened before in the NBA, and it’s about to happen once the 2024-25 NBA season rolls around. The idea of ​​LeBron and Bronny playing for the same team on the same night is sure to keep basketball fans intrigued heading into the upcoming campaign.

After the Lakers drafted Tennessee Volunteers star Dalton Knecht in the first round, many wondered if Los Angeles would actually be able to take Bronny. That moment came late in the second round, when the Lakers sent shockwaves through the court by drafting Bronny. It wasn’t something that was terribly unexpected, but it was still a surreal moment, especially considering no father-son combo has ever played simultaneously in the NBA in the history of the league.

That LeBron was able to get his son drafted into the NBA while still in the league also speaks volumes about the future Basketball Hall of Famer’s legendary longevity. Bronny is only 19 years old and turns 20 in October, which means LeBron has been in the NBA longer than Bronny has been alive. Bronny was born on October 6, 2004 — just over a year before the start of the 2004 NBA season, which was also LeBron’s second season in the pros.

The NBA has yet to release schedules for the 2024-25 season, but we expect the Lakers’ season opener to draw a lot of attention, as it could be the game where LeBron and Bronny share the court for the first time as pros.

Entering the NBA is just one step in Bronny’s basketball journey, and he is fortunate to have his father there as a player on the bench, during practices and in the locker room to guide him and teach him the ropes. That’s a specific kind of luxury that no other player in the NBA, past or present, has ever enjoyed.

Now Bronny is looking to prove that he truly belongs in the NBA. In the 2023-24 college basketball season, Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 25 games (including six starts) for the Trojans, who are 15-18 overall and 8-12 in the Pac-12.