Key Takeaways
- LeBron and Bronny James became the first Father-Son duo to share the court on October 6th, 2024.
- The Lakers selected Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 draft in the second round after just one season at the University of Southern California.
For the first time in the history of the NBA, LeBron and Bronny James became the first Father-Son duo to share the court on October 6th, 2024.
During the Lakers’ preseason game against Phoenix, Bronny, who turned 20 on the same day, came into the game to start the second quarter.
He didn’t score and had two rebounds in 13 minutes.
LeBron James. Bronny James.
— NBA (@NBA) October 7, 2024
The father-son duo share the court for the first time together! 👏 pic.twitter.com/93hC7k64gK
LeBron James tweeted in the above post,
“WOW THAT WAS SURREAL!! 🥺🥺🥺🙌🏾🙌🏾” showing just how happy he was to have fulfilled his long-time dream of playing together with his son, Bronny, in an NBA game.
“It’s surreal, I’m very honored that I get to be part of history”, Lakers coach JJ Redick said pregame.
Via Yahoo sports
The Lakers selected Bronny with the No.55 overall pick in the 2024 draft in the second round after just one season at the University of Southern California.
He has signed a multi-year guaranteed contract with the Lakers, a four-year deal worth $7.9 million with a team option in the fourth season.
This guarantees that once the 2024-25 season kicks off, Bronny will be on the roster alongside his father, LeBron James.
According to Yahoo Sports,
“Typically, players who are selected in the second round have not received guaranteed contracts. They have instead had to compete at a high level at both NBA Summer League and their respective teams’ training camps to even receive a two-way contract.”
In an interview with the Bleacher Report, James’ agent, Rich Paul, made it clear that he would not sign a two-way contract.
And this isn’t the first time a second-round pick has signed a guaranteed contract.
Bronny James has signed his rookie contract with the Lakers, per sources: Four years and $7.9 million. Team option in fourth season. https://t.co/NcgV8tgpnW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
In Bronny’s introductory press conference, he said,
“Everything has been so surreal. Just trying to take it all in by the days, extremely grateful for everything that JJ [Redick] and Rob [Pelinka] have given to me. I’ve just been extremely excited to get to work. I never really had a thought of me going to play with my dad, but that’s always there to take part of. It wasn’t a main focus of mine.”
"Everything just has been surreal."
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 2, 2024
Bronny James in his introductory press conference with the Lakers 🍿
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/dns8fyHc3c
Bronny has been facing an amplified amount of pressure ever since childhood, given that his father is famous, but he also reassures that it’s nothing different and he can get through it.
“The Lakers will open the regular season against the Timberwolves on Oct. 22, which is when LeBron and Bronny will officially make history as the first father and son to appear in a real NBA game.”
It is then that we will see them make history together, officially!
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Bronny is 6ft 1.5 in and can play point guard and shooting guard positions.
- On July 24, 2023, Bronny collapsed at the Galen Center during a USC practice session due to a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect.
- In early May 2024, he was medically cleared to be eligible for the NBA draft.
