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Bronny James Drafted By Lakers—Pairing Him With Father LeBron James

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Bronny James Drafted By Lakers—Pairing Him With Father LeBron James

Topline

Bronny James was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday, placing the 19-year-old on the same team as his father and four-time NBA champion LeBron James.

Key Facts

James was the 55th pick in this year’s draft, going to the Lakers after playing just one year of basketball at the University of Southern California, where he averaged 4.8 points per game.

The selection paves the way for the first father-son duo to play at the same time in the NBA as Bronny prepares for his first season while LeBron, 39, gets ready for his 22nd.

James was selected after a promising performance in the NBA Draft Combine, where he was one of the top players in the 3-point shooting drills, according to ESPN.

LeBron is a free agent heading into the 2024 season but can opt into the final year of his Lakers contract worth $51.4 million.

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Forbes Valuation

We estimate LeBron’s net worth at $1.2 billion. The NBA veteran in 2022 became the first active player in the league to become a billionaire.

Key Background

Bronny had a promising high school basketball career before playing at USC, becoming a 4-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High School. The 19-year-old, who stands at 6’2” and plays guard, had a 36.6% field goal percentage on an average of 19.4 minutes played per game while at USC, less than half the 40-minute length of college basketball games. His collegiate season came after a serious health scare, as he collapsed during a practice at USC in July 2023 due to cardiac arrest. He was cleared for full practice in December and made his USC debut shortly thereafter, several games into the program’s season. James landed large NIL deals while playing college basketball including a Nike partnership, an endorsement from Beats by Dre and a deal with PSD underwear. His endorsements were estimated to earn him nearly $5 million. James’ move to the Lakers was largely expected, though James told reporters at this year’s combine that his dream is to make a name for himself in the NBA, electing to not name drop any particular teams when talking about his aspirations in the league.

Further Reading

March Madness: Here Are The Biggest NIL Deals In College Basketball (Forbes)

NBA free agency 2024: LeBron James stands alone atop list of power forwards (The Athletic)

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