Bronny James made his college basketball debut on Sunday, less than five months after suffering cardiac arrest during practice over the summer. The son of LeBron James Sr. checked into the game for USC during the first half and received a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Two notable guests were in attendance and the pairing fueled a lot of speculation about Bronny’s NBA future. His father was one. His father’s boss was another.
Rob Pelinka, general manager of the Lakers, was sitting courtside!
LeBron James Sr. has long expressed his desire to play alongside his firstborn son before retiring. He wants to play with Bronny in the NBA before hanging it up— either on the same team or against each other.
I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny.
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.
— LeBron James in Jan. 2023
There is only one man who can make that happen. That would be Pelinka.
When it comes to the NBA Draft, it is ultimately up to the general manager. Multiple people are involved in the process. Pelinka gets the final say.
If Bronny James is going to play on the Lakers, the general manager would need to make that decision.
Pelinka does not have any ties to USC. He played at Michigan.
Thus, for him to take his off day and travel over to South Central for Bronny’s college basketball debut has sparked chatter. Perhaps Pelinka is considering a reality in which LeBron Sr. plays the three alongside LeBron Jr. at the two.
If that is the case, he must have loved to see Bronny look just like his dad on a chase-down block!
There is no reason to jump to conclusions here. It is all conjecture, obviously.
Pelinka might have wanted to support LeBron St. at his son’s first college game. He might have wanted to watch Bronny because his debut is a big moment in basketball history.
At the same time — we don’t know that Pelinka wasn’t there to scout his future lottery pick!