Bronny James has always been in the spotlight growing up, but his own personal fame hit new heights once he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and shared the court with his father LeBron James.
Bronny seemed earmarked to land in Los Angeles during the pre-draft process and it came to fruition when the franchise used the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to select him. There was an understanding around the organization that Bronny would be a long-term project, especially coming off a rollercoaster of a freshman year at USC.
The young guard’s health scare the summer prior set him back on the court, though that didn’t stop fans from criticizing him once he hit the floor for L.A. There were plenty of down moments at the NBA level for James, but he kept his head down and continued to work on his game throughout his rookie season.
Perhaps the most special moment for him and his family was when he and LeBron played together for the first time on Opening Night, becoming the first father-son duo to do so. Now a full year removed from that night, Bronny reflected on his experience, via Grant Horvat Golf:
“It was nuts. It was crazy. It was a crazy experience to be a part of, but like the nervousness. It was out of the roof… I wasn’t shaking, but you know, I was ready to go out and play, but it’s different when your dad’s on the team. You got expectations. The Lakers, franchise has expectations. Yeah for sure, I’m a basketball head, so it was fun to just be out there and step on an NBA floor for the first time. It was crazy.”
Bronny is unfortunately always going to be measured against his father, which is an unfair situation given he is nowhere near the player that the latter is. The Lakers were scrutinized for picking Bronny because it came across as the franchise catering to LeBron, though they have denied those perceptions.
Members of the organization have publicly supported Bronny and believe he can be a contributing piece for the Lakers one day. The second-year guard also believes in himself and has been working on his on-ball game this offseason in preparation of a bigger role.
It remains to be seen if Bronny will earn real minutes his sophomore year, but he’s definitely handled all the extra attention as well as one could hope for.
Nike releasing Bronny James colorway of LeBron NXXT sneaker
LeBron James continues to defy Father Time as he’s set to embark on Year 23 and another campaign means another new shoe colorway. For the upcoming LeBron NXXT sneaker, Nike announced Bronny James will be getting his own colorway of the shoe that’s set to release in September.
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