Former USC guard Bronny James is officially teammates with his father, NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James, after being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 55 overall in the second-round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday (June 27).

Bronny had a strong showing in the pre-draft process recently, despite averaging just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his lone collegiate season, which was delayed after he suffered cardiac arrest in January. The 19-year-old rated as a five-star prospect and ranked as the No. 5 combo guard, No. 4 player from the state of California and No. 22 overall prospect for the 2023 national recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

The selection came shortly after former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Meyers reported that Rich Paul, who represents both Bronny and LeBron, demanded teams ahead of the Lakers not select the younger James and threatened his client would play in Australia. Many have speculated that James would be targeted by his father's team as LeBron has an option to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Lakers this offseason.

Last month, ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who covered LeBron's high school career at St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic, as well as a beat writer during his stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, said he expected the 39-year-old would opt out of his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. LeBron and Bronny would become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time.

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