One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2024-25 NBA season has to do with LeBron James teaming up with his son Bronny at the Los Angeles Lakers, forming the first father-son duo in league history.
Selected 55th overall in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, the young guard spoke with reporters for the first time as a Laker on Tuesday. At his introductory press conference, Bronny addressed many topics, including the reason behind his choice of jersey number.
Just like most fans assumed, Bronny James explained he’ll be wearing No. 9 with the Lakers in honor of late rapper Juice WRLD, whose music made an impact on LeBron’s eldest son.
Bronny James inspires on Juice WRLD for first jersey number in the NBA with Lakers
“Juice has just been a big part of me, keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” Bronny said, via TMZ Sports. “So yeah, just paying homage to him especially because he passed. It’s a really important thing for me.”
Rob Pelinka, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James and JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers pose for a photo after a press conference at UCLA Health Training Center on July 02, 2024 in El Segundo, California.
Juice WRLD tragically passed away at only 21 due to an accidental overdose in December 2019. Bronny had already honored the musician with a 999 tattoo behind his ear, a tattoo Juice also had on his body as he saw this number as the inversion of the “mark of the beast” and a symbol of turning adversity into something positive.
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Even though much of the narrative surrounding Bronny getting drafted by the Lakers has to do with LeBron‘s possible influence on the decision, the USC product is looking forward to proving his doubters wrong.
“Just showcasing what I’ve been putting in the work for this whole summer,” Bronny said. “It’s a lot that I’ve been doing, getting up early mornings. But yeah, just going out, being aggressive, being myself, and showcasing what I was doing before my incident [cardiac arrest]. You know, proving myself to the doubters.”
