NEWSLETTER
What a shocker!
In the worst-kept surprise of the NBA offseason, Bronny James is officially headed to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. LeBron James (provided he doesn’t leave in free agency) will get to live out his dream and play in the NBA alongside his son Bronny.
Bronny isn’t quite NBA-ready, but clearly he and his dad felt what was best for his development was to head to the NBA after his freshman year at USC and learn on the job.
There were a few whispers that potentially a team could grab Bronny before the Lakers picked at 55th overall to try and leverage them into giving up an extra asset, but that never came to fruition and James’ will be on the same team officially next year, even if Bronny doesn’t really play a big role if any at all on game day.
Bronny James Lands With Lakers
There was a report on ESPN’s NBA Draft show that Bronny’s agent Rich Paul, who also represents LeBron, was calling GMs around the league warning them not to take Bronny and that if they did he would go to Australia next season. Whether or not that actually happened is something we’ll never know, but the report came from Bob Myers. The ex-Warriors boss is still incredibly connected in the league, so if he was reporting it there was probably at least some truth behind it.
Either way, Bronny ended up in probably the best spot for him (outside of a return to college). He’ll get to learn alongside his dad in LA, and he’ll come into the Lakers with little expectations of making much of an impact.
Last season with USC, Bronny came off the bench and averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on 36.6% shooting from the field and 26.7% shooting from deep. He played 19.4 minutes per game for the Trojans. He did enter the transfer portal and flirt with the idea of staying in college for one more year before ultimately deciding to remain in the NBA Draft.
