Bronny will be playing with LeBron, guaranteed.
Bronny James, the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has signed a multi-year guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The four-year deal, per Charania, is worth $7.9 million and contains a team option in the fourth season.
With this contract, it guarantees that once the 2024-25 season begins, James will be a solidified player on the roster alongside his father, LeBron James.
Bronny James has signed his rookie contract with the Lakers, per sources: Four years and $7.9 million. Team option in fourth season. https://t.co/NcgV8tgpnW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
Typically, players who are selected in the second round have not received guaranteed contracts. They have instead had to compete at a high level at both NBA Summer League and their respective teams’ training camps to even receive a two-way contract.
However, James’ agent, Rich Paul, made it very clear that he would not be signing a two-way contract in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
“Yes, that’s absolutely true,” Paul said. “Teams know that. I’m not doing that.”
This isn’t the first time that a second-round pick has gotten a guaranteed contract, though. As recently as last year’s draft, Jalen Pickett of the Denver Nuggets, who was picked 32nd, signed a four-year, $8.2 million contract with the Denver Nuggets with $5.8 million guaranteed. Chris Livingston of the Milwaukee Bucks, who was selected with the last pick in the second round of the same draft, signed a four-year, $7.6 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, including $3 million guaranteed. Keep in mind, though: Paul was also Livingston’s agent, which speaks to his power within NBA circles.
In James’ introductory press conference on Tuesday, he spoke about joining the Lakers and playing with his father.
“Everything has been so surreal. Just trying to take it all in by the days,” he said. “Extremely grateful for everything that JJ [Redick] and Rob [Pelinka] have given to me. I’ve just been extremely excited to get to work.
“I never really had a thought of me going to play with my dad, but that’s always there to take part of. It wasn’t a main focus of mine.”
One of the biggest storylines throughout James’ journey to the NBA is, of course, his famous father and doubts about his own talent. Now that he’s LeBron’s teammate on what hopes to be a title-contending team, he understands the level of pressure that is set to come his way.
“For sure an amplified amount of pressure. I’ve already seen it on social media and stuff on the internet, talking about how I might not deserve an opportunity,” James said. “But I’ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life. It’s nothing different. It’s more amplified for sure, but I can get through it.”
“Rob and I did not give Bronny anything,” new Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Bronny has earned this. Bronny, who talks about his hard work. Bronny has earned this through hard work. For us, prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like case study one. His base level of feel, athleticism, point of attack defender, shooting, passing; there’s a lot to like about his game.”
James is coming off a rather pedestrian freshman year at the University of Southern California statistically. The guard averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. However, James believes that the cardiac arrest he suffered last summer took a toll on his development.
“The time that I had off, I feel like I could’ve been perfecting my game more,” James said. “I just feel like I’ve been given the opportunity to show what I can really do because I wasn’t given that much of an opportunity at [USC]. So I’m excited for what is to come.”
Despite those numbers, James will get the opportunity to not only develop on the fly with the Lakers and potentially see real minutes early on. He’ll also get to make history as part of the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA, and he believes learning from LeBron will only aid him in his transition to the pros.
“Just having that work ethic and coming in and getting your work in and listening to your coaches and being coachable,” James said. “Stuff like that he’s driven into my head my whole life.”
