Bronny James was overcome with emotion after being selected by his father’s Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
After the draft, a video surfaced on social media showing LeBron’s eldest son sitting and watching NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum on a monitor during the proceedings.
“Los Angeles Lakers select,” Tatum said before pausing dramatically and saying, “Bronny James.”
In the photo, wearing a brown suit with a large jeweled brooch on his lapel, Bronny appeared to cry as he bit his lower lip and accepted a Lakers cap that was handed to him off-screen.
It’s unclear where the USC product was watching the draft, but he was spotted in New York earlier Thursday.
In the photo, wearing a brown suit with a large jeweled brooch on his lapel, Bronny appeared to cry while biting his lower lip after learning he would be joining his father with the Lakers.
LeBron James yells at Bronny during USC’s game against Cal in February 2024
“In the history of the NBA, there has never been a father and son who have shared an NBA basketball court and that feels like something that could be magical,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said afterward.
Interestingly, LeBron’s future with the Lakers is somewhat cloudy, given that he can opt out of the final year and $51 million of his contract this week to become a free agent.
However, the Lakers can offer the four-time MVP a three-year max contract worth $161 million, and with his son on board, that might be too much for LeBron to turn down.
“We know, and of course we must respect it, that LeBron has a decision about his resignation,” Pelinka said. “But if it turns out that he is on our team next season, NBA history could be written. And NBA history should be written in the Lakers uniform.”
Sierra Canyon High School’s LeBron ‘Bronny’ James Jr. 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 possible first-round pick, while others thought he should not be drafted.
Bronny’s lone college basketball season turned out to be a major disappointment after the McDonald’s All-American suffered cardiac arrest while practicing in July 2023. He was cleared to return to the court, but averaged just 19.4 minutes in 25 games for the Trojans. him while he scores only 4.8 points per outing.
But the LA Lakers decided they had seen enough and drafted the 19-year-old anyway despite his limited college experience and stats.
An inevitable debate about nepotism in the NBA erupted after the Lakers drafted Bronny.
“I don’t want to hear the accusations of nepotism,” Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “The NBA is full of nepotism. At the level of owners, managers, coaches.”
Meanwhile, co-host Stephen A. Smith nodded and repeated “I’m full of it” as Wojnarowski made his comments.
“I don’t want to hear about it all of a sudden because Bronny James’ dad plays for the Lakers,” the NBA insider continued. “It’s something that is very widespread in this league.”