Besides making NBA history by becoming the first father-son duo to play together on the same team, Bronny James is making headlines after the jerseys bearing his name and number breaks record sales in less than 24 hours.
LeBron Raymone “Bronny” James Jr. was born on October 6, 2004. Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Bronny James was born to NBA legend LeBron James and entrepreneur Savannah Brinson.
Bronny followed his father’s footsteps and became a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NFL.
Like Father Like Son; Bronny James Sets A New Record For Jersey Sale Breaking His Father’s record in 2003!
Bronny James is a big fan of Russell Westbrook which led him to wear the number 0 jersey as a tribute to his favorite NBA player.
Besides that James Jr also gave homage to his father LeBron James by wearing the number 23 jersey.
However in July 2024, James Jr made a ground-breaking decision. He chose the number 9 jersey for his professional debut in the NBA during the 2024–25 Los Angeles Lakers season.
The number 9 on his jersey signifies Bronny’s admiration for the late musician Juice WRLD. By picking number 9 jersey, he paid homage to his favourite artist.
Juice WRLD had tattooed the number ‘999’ on his arm. Besides that, he also used the digits frequently in his music and on social media handles.
Bronny said,
“Juice [WRLD] has just been a big part of me keeping calm in situations that I’ve been through.
Just paying homage to him, especially because he passed. It’s a really important thing for me.”
Bronny James
While the jersey number holds a beautiful sentiment to it, over 500,000 jerseys bearing Bronny’s name and number were sold in less than 24 hour.
The sale of Bronny’s jersey has undoubtedly set a new record for jersey sales, breaking his father’s previous record.
The Lakers has amassed $50 million just from the his sales alone, with each jersey retailing at approximately $100.
However after the record-breaking sale, James Jr started receiving some hate and scrutiny. Many people believe that he has failed to meet the expection as the son of a legendary NBA player and is unnecessarily hyped due to nepotism.
Even though this cannot be denied that his father’s influence did help him in climbing the initial steps, Bronny has proved his prowess and solidified his position as an adept athlete in his own right.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Bronny James’ godfather is NBA All-Star Chris Paul, who is a close friend of his father LeBron James.
- James Jr filed for trademarks on variations of his name; Bronny, BJ Jr. and Bronald in February of 2022,.
- He has signed name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with Nike and Beats by Dre in high school.
