It couldn’t have been all that surprising to Bronny James. The Los Angeles Lakers seemed like the only destination for him in the second round of Thursday’s NBA draft.
But the moment was still one worth savoring for the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.
The Lakers selected the younger James with the No. 55 overall pick — one selection after the Celtics took Gonzaga product Anton Watson — to pair him with his father as they become the first father-son tandem to be in the NBA at the same time.
James soaked it all in while surrounded by family and friends and appeared somewhat emotional as a video, which was shared by ESPN’s “SportsCenter” account, captured his reaction to hearing his name called by the Lakers.
James still has a lot of work ahead of him after an underwhelming freshman season at USC, in which he averaged just 4.8 points on 36.6% shooting from the field and 26.7% shooting from 3-point range. It’s likely he will spend much of next season in the G League developing his game.
But for now, he can enjoy the fact that he’s an NBA draft pick and one step closer to sharing the court with his father.
