By George Ramsay and Thomas Schlachter, CNN
(CNN) — Bronny James, the son of NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James, says there is “an amplified amount of pressure” playing alongside his father with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers selected the younger James with the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft last week, which means that he and the four-time NBA champion could become the first father-son duo to play in the league at the same time.
“I’ve already seen it, media and on the internet and stuff talking about [how] I might not deserve an opportunity, but I’ve been dealing with stuff like this for my whole life, so it’s nothing different,” James told reporters. “It’s more amplified for sure, but I can get through it.”
During his lone season at the University of Southern California, the 19-year-old played 25 games and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
He was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest during practice at USC last year, causing him to miss the first eight games of the season as he recovered from a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.
Later this month, James will make his Summer League debut with the Lakers but said he hasn’t spoken too much to his father about playing together in the NBA.
“We haven’t gone too deep into that stuff yet because we haven’t even started Summer League,” said James. “But stuff that he’s been telling me my whole life – just having that work ethic and coming in and getting your work in and listening to your coaches and being coachable. Stuff like that he’s driven into my head my whole life.”
New Lakers head coach JJ Redick, meanwhile, stressed that he and general manager Rob Pelinka “did not give Bronny anything.”
He added: “Bronny has earned this through hard work and, for us prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as case study one because his base level of feel, athleticism, point of attack defender, shooting, passing – there’s a lot to like about his game.
“As we build out our player development program holistically, he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player.”
LeBron James has previously spoken about his desire to play alongside Bronny in the NBA, telling The Athletic in 2022 that his final year in the league will be alongside his son.
According to multiple reports, the 39-year-old has not opted into a $51.4 million contract with the Lakers for the coming season but is expected to sign a new deal with the team.
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