Los Angeles Lakers make history with Bronny James draft selection

The suspense for Bronny James is finally over. The moment he’s been waiting for since he first picked up a basketball, has finally arrived, with the Los Angeles Lakers drafting LeBron James’ eldest son with the 55th overall pick in the NBA Draft.

With the 55th pick, the Lakers select Bronny James. pic.twitter.com/QseLtHp4tx
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 27, 2024

For Bronny, the wait was much longer than he likely hoped for, but all that matters now is that he’s joining a historic Lakers franchise, where he’ll have the chance to learn alongside his father, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

As much criticism as Bronny, LeBron, and the Lakers take, this is an awesome story. For the first time in NBA history, we’ll have a father-son duo playing on the same team. There’s no telling how long the two will get to play alongside each other, as LeBron is 39-years-old. Yet, Bronny is just 19, and even though he was picked over by every other team in the NBA, he does have plenty of untapped potential.

However, it should be noted that Bronny may have had a chance to be drafted much higher. His camp refused to work out with any other team aside from the Lakers and Phoenix Suns, despite plenty of interest elsewhere. Not to mention, his agent, Rich Paul, reportedly was busy calling teams, basically threatening them not to select Bronny, otherwise he’d be headed to Australia for at least a season. They also indicated that Bronny would not be signing a two-way deal under any circumstance.

"Rich Paul is calling teams, don't take Bronny James … if you take him, he's going to Australia." 😳

Bob Myers on Bronny James' draft status 👀 pic.twitter.com/p6mWNMAjma
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 27, 2024

As for what the Lakers are actually getting in Bronny, the player? He’s an undersized guard who’s defense outclasses his offense at this stage. But there’s plenty of potential for Bronny to expand his offensive game, and getting a chance to learn from JJ Redick can’t hurt either.