LeBron James casts doubt on playing with son Bronny on same team

LeBron James blew up the fantasy for fans of 29 teams, acknowledging he may not be able to move teams and play with his son Bronny in two years.

For a few years now, the conventional wisdom on the retirement of LeBron James was that he would hang around long enough for a chance to play with his son Bronny on the same team.

At age 38, LeBron is as dominant as ever, averaging 29.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. Bronny is a senior at Sierra Canyon High School, already drawing interest from prestigious college programs like Kansas, Duke, Memphis, Ohio State and USC.

Bronny will turn 19 on Oct. 6, 2004, but he won’t be eligible until the 2024 NBA draft, meaning LeBron would need to play at least two more seasons after this one to get a chance to share the court with his son. He is already under contract with the Lakers for next season with a player option for 2024-25. The thought (or fantasy) would be that any team who could land Bronny in the 2024 NBA Draft could count on LeBron opting out with the Lakers and signing for one (or more) seasons in a new place.

But in a recent conversation with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, LeBron acknowledged that it might not be able to work out that way:

"“Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me,” James said. “But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”"

Who has the best chance of landing Bronny (and maybe LeBron James) in the 2024 NBA Draft?

It’s far too early to think about the actual draft order but it’s worth pointing out that no one really considers Bronny an elite lottery prospect. A lot can change between now and then but currently he’s usually ranked as a mid-to-late first-rounder at best. Because of that, having multiple first-round picks may matter more than having the best chance at the No. 1 pick.

From that perspective, the Knicks and Thunder could be in the driver’s seat. Each could have as many as four first-round picks in that draft, depending on protections for that year and whether protected picks from the 2023 draft actually convey. The Clippers, Lakers and Nets are the only teams who currently don’t have a first-round pick in 2024.

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