Bronny James Pays Homage To Juice WRLD With Los Angeles Lakers Jersey Number

Bronny James has finally made his dream of playing in the NBA come true , and apparently, Juice WRLD’s message motivated him.

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The eldest of LeBron and Savannah’s kids spoke about his jersey number selection during a Los Angeles Lakers press conference on Tuesday (July 2). Bronny explained how the late artist’s music put a battery in his back and kept him from giving up, especially during those rough moments in his journey to the NBA. As a result, Bronny felt it was necessary to pay homage to the Chicago native by donning the No. 9 .

“Juice has been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” he told reporters. “Just paying homage to him, especially cause he passed. It’s a really important thing for me.”

And now, you’re probably wondering, “Why No. 9?” Well, Juice WRLD spoke about the importance of caring for one’s mental and spiritual health through his art and various interviews. Juice broke on the music scene in 2017 with his debut EP, 999 , which began his fan’s association of the numbers with his artistry.

In 2018, the “Lucid Dreams” rapper spoke to MTV News about the significance of the 999 iconograpy surrounding his image, explaining that, “999 represents taking whatever ill, whatever bad situation, whatever struggle you’re going through and turning it into something positive to push yourself forward.”

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Bronny would heed to those words as a huge fan of Juice, resulting in the new NBA athlete getting a “999” tattoo behind his ear in 2022 .

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft , making LeBron and Bronny the first father-son duo to play in the league simultaneously.

Juice WRLD, unfortunately, passed away in 2019 at age 21 after having a seizure at Chicago’s Midway Airport due to an accidental overdose of oxycodone and codeine.

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