Bronny James, the son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, has been handed the number 9 jersey by the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise revealed on Friday.
The 19-year-old made history with his father, LeBron, on Thursday night after he was drafted with the 55th pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, as the two became the first-ever father-son duo to be playing in the league at the same time.
Number Nine: Bronny James. pic.twitter.com/I91YjMEXAZ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 28, 2024
Bronny, who will have “James Jr.” on the back of his purple and gold Lakers jersey, will be the 16th player to wear the No. 9 for the 17-time NBA champions, joining huge names like Nick Van Exel, Matt Barnes, Luol Deng, and two-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo, who was part of the team that won the Lakers’ last title in 2020.
official. pic.twitter.com/35OjmkEbFv
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 28, 2024
Meanwhile, Nigerian-Turkish player Adem Bona, who was born in Lagos as Ikechukwu Stanley Okoro and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 41st pick, will don the No. 30 jersey during his time with the Eastern Conference team.
The 21-year-old forward-center, who last played for UCLA in college, will wear the number last won by names like George McGinnis, Al Kinner, and Seth Curry.
New kids in town 🤞💜 pic.twitter.com/9AVRuZD2wQ
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 28, 2024
Elsewhere, Jonathan Mogbo, the second of the three Nigerians in the 2024 NBA Draft, will wear the No. 2 jersey with the Toronto Raptors, who drafted the power forward with the 31st overall pick in the second round.
Mogbo will have some big shoes to fill in Toronto as the 22-year-old will don the number formerly won by two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, who won the Finals MVP when the Raptors won their first and only championship in 2019.
