Bronny James is already one of the most recognisable names in the world of basketball and his presence in the NBL would create unimaginable buzz across the globe.
Lebron James Jr, aka Bronny James enters his final year of high school this year and will be eligible to be a part of the NBA draft from 2024 onwards.
His father, Lebron James has made it no secret that he wants to play at least one season alongside his son, becoming the first father son duo to complete such a feat in the NBA.
Lebron, now 37, is entering the final stretch of his storied NBA career and he has set himself up to potentially become a free-agent the year his son will be eligible to be drafted so he can complete the goal of playing with his son in the NBA.
Bronny’s draft eligibility will directly affect Lebron’s next contract extension with the Lakers and may well depend on the team’s ability to find some draft assets for 2024 in order to draft Bronny.
In a report posted by The Athletic, it was mentioned that Bronny has one of three options for 2023, college, NBA G-League Ignite or the NBL.
The NBL has become one of the most popular avenues for NBA draft prospects to come and play in their final year before the draft with the introduction of the NBL ‘Next Star’ program.
With the success of LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey, Ousmane Dieng and R.J Hampton as a part of the Next Stars program in recent years, it’s no surprise that Bronny would be interested in taking this route to the NBA.
Bronny’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports has been notorious for getting his clients across the NBA the most they can and in this case the NBL should be able to come close to tabling the best offer for the 17-year-old’s services.
This isn’t the first time the idea of bringing the James family down under has been floated around, with the Kings owner, Paul Smith recently claiming Sydney was the only capital city big enough to host the duo of Bronny and Lebron.
The NBL would undoubtedly entertain the idea of bringing Bronny to the NBL, as it would generate a never before seen global interest in the league and could be the foundation in which the NBL begins to expand and compete with the likes of the NRL, AFL and Cricket.
Bronny alone would be enough to create worldwide buzz on the NBL, but just the thought of Lebron on the sideline cheering his son on would be enough to create a sell-out wherever he plays.
It’s happened throughout the AAU circuits in America, where local high-schools are usually packed to the rafters with fans trying to catch a glimpse of both Lebron and Jr.
On a national scale, the success and ticket sales when LaMelo was on the Hawks roster was unlike anything the league had seen.
The regular season attendance record was broken when the Kings hosted the Hawks at Qudos Bank Arena, with the Sydney crowd coming out in their masses to watch the future NBA star.
If the NBL had a chance to sign Bronny James they would have to take every possible course of action to ensure the son of Lebron would play at least one season down under.
