Bronny James (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
One of the top stories in round one of the 2024 NBA Draft was Bronny James remaining available heading into day two.

Finally, with the No. 55 selection, the Los Angeles Lakers selected LeBron James’ son. And with that, Bronny James will get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with his old man after all.

Though he wasn’t regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2024 class, many expected Bronny to go by the early stages of round two. The reason is simple: The team that landed Bronny would have a better chance at landing LeBron if he went to free agency.

"Rich Paul is calling teams, don't take Bronny James … if you take him, he's going to Australia." 😳

Bob Myers on Bronny James' draft status 👀 pic.twitter.com/p6mWNMAjma

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 27, 2024

Speaking on ESPN before Bronny was taken by the Lakers, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers dropped a bombshell report on why nobody else drafted the USC product. Apparently, it’s because agent Rich Paul worked extensively to make sure Bronny didn’t land somewhere that he didn’t want to be:

“Right now, Rich Paul is calling teams, (and telling them) ‘Don’t take Bronny James…Do not take him. Don’t take him. You take him, he’s going to Australia’ So he has a plan and he has a place.”

In his one season at USC, Bronny James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. James appeared in 25 games (six starts) and averaged 19.4 minutes of action per contest.

LeBron can opt out of his contract and test free agency in the coming days. But with Bronny landing with the Lakers, it feels unlikely now that the elder James will pass on the opportunity to play with his son.

LeBron & Bronny James Playing Together Will Be Epic

Some moving parts were needed to make this work, but LeBron and Bronny James will get the opportunity to play together in La La Land.

Only time will tell how Bronny performs in the pros, but it simply makes for Hollywood-like drama that he gets to play with his father. And if Los Angeles can somehow add one more star player to help LeBron and Anthony Davis, Bronny will get the chance to compete for a championship right away.