As expected, Bronny James is heading to the NBA to play with his father. The Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Thursday afternoon, where he’ll presumably join his father, LeBron.
Bronny James has been around the NBA for most of his life after his father broke in with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He grew up on the sidelines as LeBron played in Cleveland, Miami and eventually Los Angeles before enrolling at USC as a true freshman in 2023.
Now, he’s off to the league to make history with his father. Nike is also paying tribute to James with a new ad released shortly after NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the Lakers’ selection.
“Pressure was never a question,” the ad read. “When passion has always been the answer.”
Bronny James was one of the first athletes to sign an NIL deal with Nike when the company launched its program in 2022 along with Caitlin Clark, Haley Jones, DJ Wagner and fellow Sierra Canyon product Juju Watkins. That partnership continued while he was at USC, where he appeared in 25 games as a true freshman.
Repped by Klutch Sports Group, James was one of the highest-profile athletes in college sports during his college career. He left for the NBA Draft with an On3 NIL Valuation of $3.2 million, which ranked No. 3 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. In addition to his partnership with Nike, James had NIL deals with Google and Beats by Dre.
Anticipation building for Bronny James in NBA
Bronny James is preparing to make history in the NBA as he and LeBron become the first father-son duo to play in a game. That was a big reason why there was so much chatter about the second round of the draft on Thursday, and it’s now becoming reality.
James had an up-and-down freshman season at USC last year, missing the beginning after suffering cardiac arrest during summer workouts. In 25 games, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He also went through an interesting pre-draft process, only working out for the Lakers and Phoenix Suns as he waited to hear his name called.
Now, he’ll head to Los Angeles to join forces with his father. Before that, he’ll make his debut in the NBA Summer League July 12.
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