The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James, son of LeBron James, with the 55th pick in the NBA draft

CNN
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The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday selected Bronny James, the eldest son of superstar LeBron James, with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

James is now set to play alongside his father, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, where they could become the first father-son duo to play in the league at the same time.

Bronny James reacted to his selection by the Lakers by posting on his Instagram account: “Beyond blessed. »

“Bronny is first and foremost a great person. And secondly, he’s an incredibly hard-working young man,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Those are the qualities we look for when recruiting players and adding to our developmental core at the Lakers. He’s done a great job of screening with us and demonstrating those qualities.”

“As far as his work ethic, we’ve all seen that as well. He’s not someone who’s ever taken shortcuts or expected or been given opportunities in basketball.

During his lone season at the University of Southern California, he played in 25 games, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

In July 2023, the 19-year-old was hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest during basketball practice at USC. As a result, the freshman guard missed the first eight games of the season while recovering from a medical procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.

While at Sierra Canyon High School, James was named a 2022-23 McDonald’s High School All-American and was considered the No. 20 prospect in the Class of 2023 by ESPN.

Meanwhile, LeBron James has previously spoken about his strong desire to play with his son in the NBA.

“My last year will be with my son,” James told The Athletic in 2022. “Wherever Bronny is, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it took to play with my son for a year. It’s not about money at this point.

James could potentially enter free agency this summer — he has until Saturday to decide whether to exercise his player option for more than $51 million or opt out of his current contract with the Lakers.

Bronny James will have the opportunity to make his first appearance in a Lakers uniform during the 2024 NBA Summer League from July 12-22.

This is a developing story and will be updated.