2024 NBA Draft: Bronny James heads to Lakers with LeBron’s option upcoming
Jun 27, 2024, 3:16 PM | Updated: 3:16 pm
Bronny James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, is on track to join his father in Los Angeles after the team selected him 55th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
The Lakers and Phoenix Suns were the only teams to work out the young guard during the draft process.
The pick that appeared most logical for James was 55th overall, a selection held by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that his father has played for since 2018. James has a player option he must exercise, otherwise he will enter free agency next week.
The Suns were just one spot behind the Lakers in the second-round order entering Thursday. They held the No. 56 pick before they packaged that with No. 51 — which was acquired by trading a 2028 second-round choice — to slide up to 40th overall, where they draft Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro.
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Per BetOnline ahead of the draft, the over/under on Bronny James’ draft positions sat at 55.5 — right in between the Lakers and Suns picks.
The James family has been in New York this week, though it isn’t known if Bronny James will appear at the second round of the draft.
James played one year of college basketball at Southern California and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in 25 games, missing the start of the season after needing a procedure last year to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, which was found after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout.
A panel of doctors cleared James for NBA play last month.
James — who was listed at 6-foot-4 on USC’s roster but measured at 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches at the combine — may be the most talked-about second-round prospect in draft history, because of the family name. His father, a four-time NBA champion, will be entering his 22nd NBA season this fall.
If James plays in the NBA next season, he and LeBron James will be the first father-son duo in the league simultaneously as players. There have been about 100 instances in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played, but none at the same time.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
