Lakers select Bronny James in the second round of NBA Draft

Bronny James will join his father on the Los Angeles Lakers after being selected in the second round of the NBA draft.

The 19-year-old son of LeBron James and USC freshman guard was projected to be picked by the LA team since he was the 55th-ranked player in the CBS Sports Prospect Rankings and the Lakers had a pick at No. 55 in the NBA draft's second round. Bronny is a 2023 graduate of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth and was picked by Team USA to play at the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit, according to his USC profile .

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He had a season average at USC of 4.8 points, 2.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals.

"While it's no guarantee that Bronny will end up a member of the Lakers on draft night, it appears to be the most likely outcome," CBS Sports reported earlier, citing mock drafts that projected the Lakers will use the No. 55 pick to select Bronny.

LeBron — who surpassed fellow Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last year as the NBA's all-time leading scorer — told ESPN in May of last year that he wanted to play alongside his son: "I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny." But a few months later, the NBA star took a lighter approach and told ESPN "just because that's my aspiration or my goal, doesn't mean it's his."

"I've done what I've had to do in this league, and my son is going to take his journey," he said.

At the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago last month, Bronny was asked by reporters if he aspired to play alongside his dad.

"No, never," he answered. "My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and get to the NBA, which is everyone's end goal that's here. I never thought about just playing with my dad."

"But of course he's brought it up a couple of times," he said.

On Wednesday, as other players were selected in the draft's first round, LeBron addressed Bronny and his other son, Bryce, in a heartfelt post to Instagram.

"Pops over here getting emotional as hell just thinking about yall journey so far!," the NBA star wrote. "Thank you both for allowing me to be your DAD and be apart of your compass through life's trials and tribulations!"

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