Proud mom Savannah James shows love for Bronny's new #9 Lakers jersey
Savannah James proudly celebrated her son Bronny James being drafted into the NBA. On Friday, she posted a photo on Instagram of Bronny in the LA Lakers' Purple & Gold, wearing his new jersey number, 9.
The Lakers selected Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft after his freshman season at USC. He is set to form the NBA’s first active father-son duo with LeBron James, provided LeBron extends his contract with the Lakers.
Savannah's Instagram story featured a photo of Bronny with purple and yellow heart emojis in the caption. See it below:
Bronny will be the first Laker to wear No. 9 since Sterling Brown in the 2022-23 season.
Previously, Bronny wore No. 0 in high school and No. 6 in college, the latter to honor LeBron's jersey numbers.
However, with No. 6 retired league-wide in honor of Bill Russell, Bronny chose No. 9, a number worn by 15 previous Lakers, including Nick Van Exel, Matt Barnes and Rajon Rondo.
Bronny declared for the draft after a challenging season at USC, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Despite a cardiac arrest incident last summer, his draft stock rose after an impressive performance at the Draft Combine, where he showcased his shooting skills, hitting 78% of his shots in the side-mid-side 3-point shooting drill and going 19-for-25 in the 3-point star drill, both second-best marks.
LeBron James faced with big decision after Bronny James got drafted by LA Lakers
LeBron James faces a significant decision following Bronny's draft by the Lakers. He must decide by Saturday whether to opt into a $51.4 million player option for next season.
Another option for James, who is turning 40 later this year, is to opt out and sign a new deal, with the Lakers able to offer up to three years and $160 million if he becomes a free agent.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka acknowledged the potential historic moment of LeBron playing with Bronny but respects LeBron’s decision.
"We know, and have to respect of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out ... but if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made," Pelinka said (per ESPN's Dave McMenamin).
"And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform."
Bronny will start his Lakers journey in the summer league on July 6.