Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, taken by Lakers with 55th pick in NBA draft

It was the dream that LeBron James first floated a few years ago, the notion of playing in the NBA alongside one of his sons. And it s a step closer...

It was the dream that LeBron James first floated a few years ago, the notion of playing in the NBA alongside one of his sons. And it's a step closer to reality now.

Bronny James - the oldest son of the NBA's all-time scoring leader and four-time champion - was drafted Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that his father has played for since 2018. Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 overall pick, deep in the second round and with only three picks remaining in this year's draft.

Adding further intrigue to the move: LeBron James can become a free agent next week, which means he could choose to leave the Lakers and sign elsewhere.

The draft move doesn't guarantee that father and son will actually play in a game together, nor does it even guarantee that Bronny James will be on the Lakers' roster next season. But it certainly raises the possibility that it could happen in what would be an NBA first - a father-son on-court duo in the league simultaneously as players.

There have been about 100 instances in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played, but those always came at least five years after the father's career ended.