Bronny James is joining his father, LeBron, in the NBA!

Bronny, 19, was taken by his father’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, with the 55th overall choice in the second round of the NBA draft on Thursday, June 27.

The James father-son combination will be the first to play in the NBA simultaneously, according to the NBA.

“Congratulations to Bronny James on being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers,” Magic Johnson, a former Lakers player, posted on X (previously Twitter). “This is a historic moment since LeBron and Bronny are the first father-son pair to play in the NBA simultaneously and on the same team. “Watching Bronny play for the @Lakers during Summer League in Vegas will be must-see television!”

Bronny, the oldest of LeBron’s three children, is set to enter the NBA after a single truncated season at the University of Southern California. 

According to ESPN, Bronny was projected as a top-10 NBA Draft choice last February. However, due to health difficulties and a disappointing rookie season at USC, Bronny’s draft stock dwindled.

In April, an anonymous NBA general manager told The Ringer that Bronny is “nowhere near ready” to play in the league that his father has dominated for the past two decades, becoming the all-time top scorer and earning four NBA Championships and four NBA MVP Awards.

“Bronny is nowhere near ready,” the general manager stated. “He should go back to school to develop at his own pace or he risks getting lost in the shuffle, whether or not he’s playing with his dad.”

Bronny James, the NBA star’s son, discusses his relationship with his father.

Bryce, LeBron, and Bronny James are shown from left to right in 2022. JEFFERY SALTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY

LeBron’s kid missed the first eight games of the NCAA season after suffering a heart episode during practice in July. Bronny was identified with “an anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect” by physicians and returned to the USC roster to make his NCAA basketball debut in December, with his father in attendance.

“It was everything for my family,” LeBron told reporters after seeing his son’s debut. “It was just an emotional, draining day, from the time we all woke up to the time that the buzzer hit zeros.”

However, Bronny struggled the rest of the season, starting six of the team’s last 25 games and averaging 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

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Bronny and LeBron James are pictured from left in July 2023. Frazer Harrison/Getty

Despite his setbacks, LeBron continued to promote his son’s draft prospects throughout the NBA season.

In January, after a disastrous period in which the Lakers lost eight of ten games and fell out of postseason contention, LeBron was overheard in the Los Angeles locker room saying that Bronny “could play for us right now, easy,” according to Claire de Lune, an NBA contributor for The Guardian.

Playing on the same NBA team as his kid Bronny has been one of LeBron’s final remaining aspirations in his legendary basketball career.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” LeBron remarked following the 2023 season. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him.”

Bronny reportedly pleased scouts during pre-draft workouts, telling reporters that his goal is to make it to the NBA and create out his own reputation outside of his father’s shadow.

“My dream has always been to put my name out there, make a name for myself, and, of course, make it to the NBA, which is everyone’s goal in here,” James told the source. “I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course, he’s brought it up a couple times.”

According to ESPN, LeBron still has until June 29 to opt into the final year of his Lakers contract, which is worth $51.4 million for the 2024-2025 season.