The Los Angeles Lakers selected James’ son, Bronny James, with the 55th pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night. The one-and-done guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this past year at USC, shooting 37% from the floor and 27% from 3-point range.
He missed the start of his freshman season and was limited to 19.4 minutes per game after suffering cardiac arrest during a workout with the Trojans last summer.
While LeBron has the ability to become a free agent this summer, he can take a $51.4 million player option with the Lakers that he has to decide on by June 29. Assuming James is back with the purple and gold, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will enter his 22nd season with the opportunity to get on the hardwood with his son in what would be a historic moment in basketball.
There is not much to suggest Bronny is ready for the NBA level. According to Synergy, the 6-foot-2 guard shot just above 19% on catch-and-shoot 3s this past season at USC, going no better than 30% on floaters, 2-point jumpers or 3s off the dribble. Beyond his catch-and-shoot ability, James does not possess the handle to create space and consistently create shots for himself. He did show positives at the draft combine in May with a 40.5-inch max vertical leap, while also taking second in the 3-point star shooting drill. [Fox]