ESPN's 2024 NBA mock draft predicts landing spot for Bronny James

In a February 2022 report for The Athletic, LeBron told Jason Lloyd, "My last year will be played with my son. Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It's not about the money at that point."

He amended his plans in January 2023 in an interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin (h/t Sports Illustrated), saying, "I need to be on the floor with my boy ... either in the same uniform or a matchup against him... But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure." 

In 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. became the first father-son duo to feature on the same lineup in the MLB.

But after the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals by eventual-champion Denver, James acknowledged a partnership with Bronny might not happen.

"I've done what I've had to do in this league, and my son is going to take his journey... So, just because that's my aspiration or my goal, doesn't mean it's his. And I'm absolutely OK with that," he said.

Per Givony, Bronny has "a very high floor because of his frame, his defensive instincts, the way he can make spot-up jumpers, his feel for the game, his competitiveness, his versatility... The sky is the limit for Bronny James. I think he could end up being a lottery pick ultimately."

We're a year away from next year's draft, and while Bronny James has work to do to separate himself from the pack, he'll without a doubt command an oversized amount of the spotlight. In fact, he already is. No one else is already commanding headlines for where they'll be drafted in 2024, after all.

What next year's draft lacks in top-end talent, it more than makes up for with the intrigue of where James lands and its effect on where his father finishes his career.