The Los Angeles Lakers draft the son of megastar LeBron James and make NBA history in the process. But is the whole thing a sporting reinforcement or just a PR stunt?
“With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Bronny James from the University of Southern California.” These were historic words that rang out at the talent selection of the best basketball league in the world that night. Bronny James, 19-year-old guard of the USC Trojans, is now part of one of the most famous franchises in the NBA. The franchise with which his father LeBron James has been under contract since 2018 – and with which his father has already won the championship.
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It is the first time in the history of the league that a father-son duo are on the same team. And it is also the first time that a father and his son are playing in the NBA at the same time.
The draft was certainly historic, which was also evident from the reactions. “Special!!! Congratulations, Bronny!” wrote Warriors superstar Chris Paul, who is also the youngster’s godfather.
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Magic Johnson congratulates Bronny James
NBA legend Magic Johnson said: “Congratulations to Bronny James on being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers! This is a historic moment as LeBron and Bronny are the first father-son duo to play in the NBA and on the same team at the same time.” Seeing the 19-year-old during the Summer League in Vegas is therefore an “absolute must-see on television.”
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Meanwhile, there were also reactions from the official NBA account and from supplier Nike.
The youngster’s draft is a special story, but above all a story with a message. Years ago, “King” James, who has since become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and is extremely important for the sporting future and relevance of the Lakers, declared that he wanted to play on the same team as his son one day.
Heart attack last summer
Last year, hopes for this were massively dampened – and with a truly terrible message. In July 2023, Bronny James collapsed with a heart attack during the Trojans’ training and underwent surgery. After months of rehabilitation – he had previously been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect – the result was a shortened and quite mixed college season with an average of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
From a purely sporting perspective, the 19-year-old is not necessarily the best addition to the team, and a selection in the draft was considered unlikely beforehand. For a long time, countless basketball experts in the USA also communicated this in exactly the same way, but now one or two have backtracked, which may also be due to the enormous influence of LeBron James.
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The now 39-year-old has set his sights on the historic first father-son duo in the NBA – and has done everything he can to achieve it. ESPN reported that player agent and Bronny’s representative Rich Paul had warned other NBA teams before the draft not to draft his client. If they picked LeBron James Jr., he would rather play “in Australia.”
LeBron James has several contract options
And dad James himself has also waited with regard to his own plans. The NBA superstar’s future is not yet certain. He has a player option worth 51.4 million US dollars for the coming season. If he exercises this by the weekend, he will also be on the court for the Lakers in the 2024/25 season.
However, the superstar can also reject this and negotiate a new contract with the franchise – or even become a free agent. A scenario that is likely to be ruled out with the arrival of his son.
It is currently completely unclear whether and how much the two will actually be on the court together. LeBron Sr. will compete with the US national team at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, while LeBron Jr. will have to prove himself at the NBA Summer League.
Constant comparisons with his father
But one thing is already clear: it won’t be easy for Bronny. His world-famous father is literally hovering over him, and comparisons between the two will be made again and again.
From a sporting perspective, the 19-year-old performed well physically at the Combine, and his long-range shooting is also decent. He also has the potential to become a pretty good defender. But Bronny is relatively small and doesn’t have the ball handling skills of a point guard. So he doesn’t really have the best prerequisites for a career in the NBA – but he is now in the spotlight.
More than is good for him? This is the view of critical fans who accuse LeBron – as so often – of a self-aggrandizing ego show that will probably do more harm than good to the team and also to his son.
Lakers CEO Rob Pelinka naturally sees it from a different perspective: “In the history of the NBA, there has never been a father and son sharing an NBA basketball court. This feels like something that could be magical.”
2024-06-29 06:56:52
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