he Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to select USC point guard Bronny James with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft caused a lot of controversy. Many saw the pick as nepotism stemming from his father, LeBron James, being on the Lakers’ roster.
Bronny put together a poor first season with the Trojans. USC fans were hopeful he would return to college basketball for another year to grow his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s even more. Instead, Bronny decided it was time to head to the NBA to live out his dream.
The young guard put on a strong Pro Day performance and had some good individual workouts with interested teams. So when draft day came, the Lakers jumped at the chance to take him, with his agent essentially telling other teams to avoid drafting him so he could fall to Los Angeles.
The decision to take Bronny created history. Now the elder James and his son can become the first-ever father-son duo to play in the NBA together. The situation has elicited many opinions, but most have been happy for the James family.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss made the call to draft Bronny but until now, hadn’t spoken about the choice. The @kidssportsreporters account on Instagram got the chance of a lifetime to interview Buss.
Within the interview, Buss made her first public comments about the Lakers drafting guard Bronny James out of USC. Buss credited Bronny for already being one of the hardest-working players on the team. She believes he will be a contributor this coming season.
“He is, already, one of the hardest-working guys on the team,” Buss said. “He participated in summer league over the summer. He’s a fellow Trojan, so I like that, from USC. I think he is going to work hard and be a big contributor this year. And certainly his dad, thrilled to be his teammate. And I think people are very interested to watch them together on the court.”
In response to that idea, reporter Huddy mentioned that Bronny would be throwing alley-oops to his dad.
“Yeah, Bronny’s gonna be throwing alley-oops to LeBron,” Huddy said.
Buss seemed to agree and liked the thought behind it all.
“I like that idea,” Buss said.
When Bronny and his dad do take the court together, it will be a special moment in NBA history. While the rookie will play most of his games this season in the G-League, he will be given some run time in the NBA too.
Bronny is a long-term project for the Lakers but the team sees him as a potential impact player down the line. Patience will be a key when it comes to Bronny but with Buss supporting him, he seems like a lock to be around for a while.
