First Photo of Bronny James Wearing No. 9 Lakers Jersey Is Pretty Wild

Bronny James was officially introduced as the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday alongside the team’s 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht.

As part of the typical duties assigned to a recent draft pick, the 19-year-old James answered questions from the media as his dad, LeBron James, watching in the crowd. Later Tuesday afternoon, James took photos wearing his new No. 9 Lakers jersey for the first time.

First look at Bronny in Lakers’ threads 🧵 pic.twitter.com/UJRITf6XrD

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 2, 2024James, who averaged 4.8 points per game across 25 contests during his lone collegiate season at USC, was selected by Los Angeles with the No. 55 pick of the 2024 NBA draft on Thursday. If he makes the Lakers’ roster, he and LeBron will become the first father-son duo to share an NBA court in league history.

“It’s been surreal,” James said to the media Tuesday. “Just trying to take it all in. … Extremely grateful for everything JJ [Redick] and Rob [Pelinka] have given me. I’ve just been extremely excited to get to work.”

James chose the No. 9 jersey to honor the late rapper Juice WRLD, who had a tattoo that read “999” to represent turning a negative into a positive.

“Juice has just been a big part of me keeping calm in some situations that I’ve been through,” James said. “Paying homage to him, especially because he passed, is really important to me.”

James will have the first chance to showcase his talents in a Lakers tournament during the upcoming NBA Summer League. The Lakers are scheduled to play the Sacramento Kings on July 6 in the first game of the California Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.