SUMMARY
- Bronny James was selected 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
- Fans believe that the Lakers selected him for publicity reason or that it was an act of nepotism.
Being drafted into the NBA is something several young basketball players dream of happening to them. But not everybody gets this dream fulfilled easily. For Bronny James, it was simply sheer hard work that paid off in the end. The Los Angeles Lakers selected the 19-year-old as the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, allowing him to play alongside the greatest player of this generation, his father LeBron James.
Bronny’s reaction to getting drafted ❤️
(via roccovalenti_/IG) pic.twitter.com/efZoUMZXJ2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 27, 2024
For over a month leading up to the draft, James had to endure a massive wave of criticism. Keep in mind that James faced a health scare close to a year ago due to a congenital heart defect. He didn’t spend much time playing college basketball either which also influenced scouts to look past him in the draft process. Amongst many other franchises that were interested, the Lakers seemed to be the only team willing to truly give him a fair shot.
Fans react to the Lakers selecting Bronny James to join LeBron James
Based on what we witnessed, Bronny James was destined to come into the league via the Lakers. He rejected multiple workout opportunities with other teams only to give the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns a shot. This had fans convinced that the Lakers were going to use their 55th pick to draft him and most individuals claim that this was simply a publicity stunt or an act of nepotism.
Feel so bad for this kid. Being used for marketing and being ultimately set up to fail.
— Arsene Wenger’s Coat (@ArseneCoat_FC) June 28, 2024
Bronny James to the Lakers is a marketing and PR move and there is no other way it was about anything else.
Sends a poor message to the other prospects with much better resumes.
— Steven Padillas (@Falcons_Pad) June 27, 2024
Anyone else feel like, Bronny James getting drafted to the Lakers is just a PR move.
— Whsky405 (@WhSkY_405) June 28, 2024
Rich Paul is a PR god for spinning the story of Bronny James not being talented enough to get drafted into him “forcing his way way to the Lakers”
— Holden (@holdenpgumb) June 27, 2024
One fan said, “Feel so bad for this kid. Being used for marketing and being ultimately set up to fail.” Another fan added, “Bronny James to the Lakers is a marketing and PR move and there is no other way it was about anything else.” On hearing his name being called, Bronny got extremely emotional. He was joined by his mother, Savannah, and siblings, Bryce and Zhuri. Rich Paul was also seated right beside him in the video reposted by Sports Center.
Savannah James reposts a hilarious meme regarding LeBron and Bronny James pairing
With Bronny James now riding with the Lakers full-time, he will have to put in a lot of work before he gets bigger roles on this team that’s already stacked with talent. The Lakers also selected Dalton Knecht as the 17th overall pick in the first round. Knecht closely resembles an Austin Reaves in good form.
After Bronny got drafted, Savannah uploaded a post from Playmaker Hoops on Instagram which said, “It has been discovered that LeBron James is sleeping with his newest teammate’s mom.”
View this post on Instagram
James also posted a series of pictures with him and Bronny when he was younger and some pictures from some of their workouts together. The former USC guard is expected to receive fewer minutes for now, but he will have to work his way to the top. LeBron is also yet to sign an extension with the Lakers as he’s eligible to ink a three-year $162 million deal.