Still, Thursday felt as awkward as it did monumental. You can’t orchestrate a heartwarming moment. The inevitability of the Lakers drafting Bronny diminished some of the enthusiasm about the father and son making history next season when they play together. LeBron spoke the plan into existence during the All-Star Game two years ago, and even though he later downplayed the importance of playing with Bronny, the buzz remained.
It always seemed improbable that Bronny, just a normal-sized guard at a shade under 6-foot-2 with the skills of a role player, would meet his father’s timeline. When the medical emergency delayed his freshman season at USC, I figured Bronny would spend more time in college. He played 25 games and scored just 121 points for the Trojans. He made 26.7 percent of his three-pointers. His team had a losing record. But he declared for the draft as a one-and-done prospect anyway. Then his agent and a longtime family friend, Rich Paul, took it from there.
Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, focused on fit rather than overexposing Bronny to every scrutinizing NBA team. Bronny played well enough at the combine. Then Paul limited Bronny’s private workouts, focusing on the Lakers and Phoenix Suns. On Wednesday, his client didn’t go in the first round, as expected. During the second round Thursday, Paul steered teams away from considering Bronny, clearing the way for the Lakers to do what they were always going to do.
It was abnormally inevitable, the No. 55 pick calling his shot, going to a celebrated franchise eager to keep his legendary father happy.
The league has witnessed many sons follow the path of their fathers, but this is different. LeBron, 39, is still an all-NBA player and not a retired dad. The Lakers, despite all the enviable basketball treasures in their history, seem desperate for LeBron to retire in their uniform. He truly is King James now. The Lakers have allowed him to have an heir, for now. It’s up to Bronny to hold down a roster spot.
“That feels like something that could be magical,” Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka said of the NBA’s historic father-son duo.
Later, Pelinka added: “The biggest moment in sports happened with the Lakers. And that’s how we’re built. And we’re excited to see this story unfold.”
Unless Bronny proves to be more than a long-term project, it’s destined to be a weird period in franchise history. Pelinka has said repeatedly that LeBron hasn’t played an active role in the Lakers’ offseason. He can opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent this summer, and the superstar has acted like a man considering his options. But LeBron’s influence is so strong that he doesn’t need to pester the Lakers. They know what he wants. They know what it takes to keep him engaged. He didn’t have to stump for his podcast partner, JJ Redick, to be the Lakers’ new coach. He didn’t need to make a demand to draft Bronny. He has a kind of power that compels powerful people to anticipate his desires.
It makes the Lakers look either shrewd or pitiful. The final judgment depends largely on whether LeBron, who turns 40 in December, can still influence championship-level success. The Lakers’ decision to hire Redick, who has no coaching experience, is a more egregious LeBron appeasement than spending the fourth-to-last pick of the draft on his son. They used a low-risk asset on Bronny. The past five No. 55 picks would be fun entries to play “Who He Play For?” with Charles Barkley on TNT’s “Inside the NBA”: Isaiah Wong, Gui Santos, Aaron Wiggins, Jay Scrubb and Kyle Guy. Wiggins, the former Maryland guard, is the only player in that group to carve out a niche role.
But when your last name is James, you won’t be treated as a throwaway pick, not after LeBron spent two years telegraphing this moment. On Thursday, he posted a picture from his early Cleveland days on Instagram. It showed LeBron relaxing on the bench during warmups with a toddler Bronny by his side. He wrote “LEGACY” in the caption.
“He’s worked hard for everything he’s gotten,” Pelinka said of Bronny.
And LeBron has worked hard to amplify everything he thinks Bronny is capable of doing. As a father with two children, I try to do the same. But I am not an icon hoping to groom another 1 percenter.
Without his father’s name and tactics, it’s unlikely that Bronny would’ve made it this far this soon. For that, the son should consider himself fortunate. But for as long as King James rules the NBA, it’s unlikely that we will get to know who Bronny really is.
For that, the son should consider himself burdened.
