After the LA Lakers drafted Bronny James with the 55th pick on Thursday, fans reacted. James finally made his dreams come true after his name was called, making him an NBA player. The Lakers have paired the league's first father-son duo as LeBron James could still return to the team.
Many anticipated the Lakers' 55th pick after they didn't draft Bronny, who struggled as a USC Trojans freshman, with the 17th pick in the first round, taking Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Dalton Knecht of Tennessee. Fans of the franchise will get a chance to see how the younger James will perform in the biggest league.
Fans shared their thoughts on the decision of the Lakers to select Bronny. Here are some of what they said.
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"What will Bronny call LeBron?" one fan was curious.
"LeBron and his son playing on the same team is wild to think about," another fan had a realization.
"OMG THEY JUST MADE HISTORY, MY KING IS PLAYING WITH HIS SEED!!" a fan said.
However, other fans weren't huge fans of the pick.
"Pathetic nepo drafting," a fan said.
"And they still will lose in the 1st round," another fan doesn't think Bronny's addition will help the Lakers.
"Lmao yeah bc his agent called every team telling them not draft him 😭 so lame," a fan shared.
Rich Paul reportedly called teams telling them not to draft Bronny James
While the second round of the 2024 NBA draft was underway, many were thinking about which team would draft Bronny James. Surprisingly, his agent, Rich Paul, reportedly pulled off a unique tactic to get him to be selected by the Lakers.
According to former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers, Paul reached out to teams and told them not to draft the prospect. He only left out two teams in his contact list that were high on drafting him, the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
"Rich Paul is calling teams, don't take Bronny James," Myers said. "He's saying, 'Do not take him, if you take him he's going to Australia.'"
In the end, the strategy that Paul, who is also the agent of LeBron James, reportedly used worked out well for himself and his client. Teams before the Lakers passed up on taking Bronny, which made it easier for them to select him.
James spent one season with the USC Trojans, where he played 25 games. He put up 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
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