Bronny declared for the 2024 NBA Draft in April after playing one season with USC’s Trojans basketball team

Bronny James. Photo: Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty

The 2024 NBA Draft is officially underway and all eyes were on Bronny James. But following the draft’s first night, the oldest son of NBA legend LeBron James remained unselected.

Many NBA fans — and LeBron himself — have been eager to see both father and son play together in the NBA. However, after night one, everyone will have wait a little longer to find out if that will happen.

Although Bronny has never been seen as a top choice draft pick, several outlets have predicted that he will still likely be drafted into the NBA, with CBS Sports betting on LeBron’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, to scoop him up.

While a seemingly obvious pick for the Lakers, Rich Paul, LeBron’s agent, previously stated that the father-son duo are not a package deal, according to Yahoo! Sports. 

If drafted by the Lakers, Bronny and LeBron would make history as the NBA’s first father and son to actively play together. But that is not only dependent on Bronny being drafted by the team, and if LeBron chooses to continue playing instead of retiring, the outlet added.

As the son of such a dominant figure in the NBA, Bronny has previously expressed how much pressure and scrutiny comes with it. 

The 19-year-old, who is currently a freshman at USC, recently opened up being under the public microscope. “It’s tough,” Bronny admitted in an interview with NBA Central. “A lot of criticism gets thrown my way, but you know, I’ve got to deal with it.” 

“They don’t know what I’ve been through,” he added of his critics. “But yeah, I just try to make the best of [the] opportunities that’s given to me.”

Bronny James and LeBron James. Meg Oliphant/Getty

Bronny declared for the 2024 NBA Draft in April after playing one season with USC’s Trojans basketball team. When asked about his decision-making process in jumping from college division basketball to the professional league, he told NBA Central that it had all to do with following his heart.

“You know I always want to end up where I’m happy the most,” he said. “[My] mom has always told me you know, ‘take me where my heart wants me to be,’ and I just found happiness in what I’m doing right now, and I feel like that’s where I want myself to be at.” 

The college student was also asked if basketball was always the goal or if there were other sports that he had considered, to which Bronny replied, “No.”

“I mean I’ve played other sports,” he explained. “I played soccer. [I] wasn’t allowed to play football. My mom didn’t allow that. So yeah, I’ve always been a sports guy, but basketball was just my cup of tea.”