LeBron James will play next season with LeBron James Jr, his son – Libération

“Bronny” James was selected on Thursday night in the 55th position of the Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, his father’s team. The two men will play under the same jersey starting next October.

In the James family, I ask for the son. On the night of Thursday to this Friday, June 28, the Los Angeles Lakers chose, at the very anonymous 55th place of the NBA Draft, a young 19-year-old: LeBron James Jr., known as “Bronny James.” If usually no one pays much attention to the players selected this far during this annual ceremony in which teams draw from among the best young players, this year’s 55th choice is causing a lot of talk. Because the youngster in question has been followed around the world for a long time. It’s hard to be otherwise when you have the same name as one of the two best players that basketball has ever known.

It has been several years since LeBron James announced that he wanted to share the court with his eldest son before the end of his career. He had even said several times that he would join the team that would give him a chance in the NBA. The Lakers, where he has been playing for six seasons now, heard the message and therefore did not fail to select Bronny, a way of ensuring they kept his father on the team for at least one more year. Once heralded among the best young people of his generation, Bronny had seen his rating go down in recent months, the fault, in particular, of a cardiac arrest in the middle of training in the summer of 2023.

After an operation and a slew of medical tests, little James (1m87 when his father is 20 cm taller) was allowed to play again this winter in the college championship with the USC Trojans of the University of Southern California. A substitute, he was not particularly dominant, which leads many observers to say that without his father’s piston, he probably would not have had his chance in the NBA.

A first in the NBA

Still, the story is beautiful. A father had already worn the same jersey as his son in other sports, such as baseball (Ken Griffey and Tim Raines father and son at the turn of the 2000s in the United States) or football (Rivaldo and Rivaldinho without the Brazilian championship or the Icelanders Gudjohnsen in the national team). But the situation had never arisen in the big American basketball league.

It says a lot about LeBron James’ monstrous longevity. Four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA MVP (best player), 20-time All Star, the best scorer in the history of the American championship continues, at almost 40 years old, to dominate the league. Illustration in statistics, spotted by the specialized media TrashTalk: in 2004, the year Bronny was born, LeBron averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. In 2024, he was still averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Obviously still not tired of the orange ball, despite more than 1,700 games played in the NBA, LeBron James could continue for two more years and wait to play with Bryce, his second son.