Bronny James: LA Lakers take LeBron James’ son in NBA draft second round

Bronny James was picked in the second round of the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers where he could play alongside his legendary father LeBron.

The 19-year-old was the 55th choice of the draft in New York on Thursday after weeks of speculation about which team he would end up on.

Four-time NBA champion LeBron, 39, is probably entering the final year of his career and could become a free agent this summer by declining his $51.4m (£40.6m) player option when the window opens at the end of June.

However, that prospect seems remote given the the four-time NBA champion said after the All-Star game in 2022 that his “last year will be played with my son”.

No father-son pairing has ever played together in the NBA before.

“In the history of the NBA, there’s never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court and that feels like something that could be magical,” said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

“We know, and have to respect of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out… but if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made. And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.”

On Instagram, Bronny wrote “Beyond Blessed”, while his father posted a series of pictures of the pair and the caption “Legacy”.

Bronny has completed his first year of college basketball with the University of Southern California Trojans, where he averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 assists per game.

Unlike his father, who stands at 6ft 9in and is the NBA’s leading all-time scorer, teenager Bronny is 6ft 1in and is more of a defensive player.

Being the son of a four-time Most Valuable Player brings extra attention along with it. Bronny has 7.7 million Instagram followers and pundits have followed his journey for years.

Despite that, his path has not been entirely smooth. Bronny had a cardiac arrest in training last July, after which he was only cleared to return to basketball last November, having been found to have a congenital heart defect.

Bronny is not expected to play a major role for the Lakers in his rookie season, but the possibility of him appearing alongside his father is likely to garner plenty of attention.

Lakers player Anthony Davis spoke to ESPN about Bronny before Thursday’s second round of the draft, saying: “He’s very good defensively. He can read the floor very well. I think he’s a really good playmaker.

“I think he’s going to be fine, man. Obviously it’s a lot of pressure on him with his dad being who he is.”