A few years ago, LeBron James shared a vision he had been contemplating – the idea of sharing the basketball court in the NBA with one of his own children.
On Thursday, Bronny James, the eldest son of LeBron James, NBA’s top scorer and four-time champion, was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA draft. He was chosen as the 55th overall pick in the draft’s second round, with only a few picks left for the year.
RELATED: Bronny James Medically Cleared To Play In NBA, Expected To Remain In Draft
The situation is made more intriguing by the fact that LeBron James could potentially become a free agent next week, leaving the Lakers and signing with another team.
wow it really happened, the Lakers just selected Bronny James with the #55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft tonight
— SOUND (@itsavibe) June 27, 2024
LeBron James and his son Bronny are now the first father-son duo ever to be in the NBA at the same timepic.twitter.com/EsVMjvVXlC
While the draft selection doesn’t guarantee that the father and son will share the court in an official game, or that Bronny will be on the Lakers’ roster for the upcoming season, it does open up the possibility of them making history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA simultaneously. While there have been instances of players entering the league after their fathers retired, this potential scenario would be a unique and unprecedented occurrence in NBA history.
As we previously reported, teams were skeptical of Bronny because he had to be rushed to the hospital after going into cardiac arrest, which was later revealed that the cause of it was a congenital heart defect. A congenital heart defect is a condition that is present at birth and affects the structure or function of the heart. In Bronny’s case, the defect was significant but treatable.
RELATED: Bronny James Declares for 2024 NBA Draft, Enters Transfer Portal
When the news first broke The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that a rep made a statement on the incident that read:
“Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the statement began. “We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.” The spokesperson added, “LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes,” the rep said.