LeBron James Lakers

The discussions of who the greatest player of all time (G.O.A.T.) is have always been subjective, and many folks have Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Michael Jordan battling for the top spot.

According to Monte Morris, James has overtaken Jordan in the race. While the Minnesota Timberwolves guard didn’t state a specific explanation on his X (formerly Twitter) post, its timing suggests that the Lakers’ drafting of Bronny James is the reason.

Many were anticipating how Los Angeles would move in the 2024 NBA Draft, where the team owned selections in the first and second rounds. It decided to use the No. 17 pick on Dalton Knecht, who is fresh off winning the SEC Player of the Year award and leading the University of Tennessee to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Because of Knecht’s outside shooting prowess, shot-creation skills and seemingly NBA-ready game, there is a belief that the Lakers got the steal of the draft.

However, the rest of the first round went by without the younger James’ name being mentioned. With the draft being reformatted into two evenings, the University of Southern California product had to wait one more day to find out if a team would select him.

When the Lakers were on the clock again on Thursday, they wasted no time choosing the younger James, which had the NBA world erupting on social media. It seems the top brass wanted to be a part of history, especially with Rob Pelinka sharing that the franchise had just witnessed the biggest moment in sports.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the Lakers’ roster will look by the start of the regular season. However, the decision to draft the 19-year-old guard all but assures that the elder James will remain wearing the Purple and Gold despite having a player option looming.

The front office still has some work to do to bolster the roster, especially after the team’s unceremonious exit in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. But there is plenty of optimism among the Lakers faithful, more so because of the arrival of a new coach in J.J. Redick.