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Lakers select Bronny James with No. 55 pick of 2024 NBA Draft
Bronny James. James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

The Lakers have drafted All-NBA Los Angeles forward LeBron James‘ son, Bronny James, with the No. 55 pick out of USC.

Bronny James served as a backup combo guard on a middling Trojans team in 2023-24. USC finished with a 15-18 record and missed the NCAA Tournament, with former head coach Andy Enfield departing for SMU in the offseason.

Across his 25 healthy contests last season, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged just 4.8 points on .366/.267/.676 shooting splits, along with 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals a game. His season got off to a late start because he needed to be cleared after suffering cardiac arrest last July.

Isaiah Collier, who started ahead of James and had been considered a possible lottery prospect heading into 2023-24, fell to the Jazz with the No. 29 pick on Wednesday night.

James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, was apparently contacting rival clubs during the draft to dissuade them from selecting Bronny prior to the Lakers’ pick. According to Bob Myers of ESPN, Paul informed other teams that, if drafted ahead of Los Angeles’ pick, Bronny would explore pro opportunities with the NBL in Australia.

Now, Bronny James join a revamped Lakers team — coached by former NBA-sharpshooter-turned-analyst-and-podcaster JJ Redick — that is angling for an extended playoff run in the West. How many minutes the younger James will earn as likely a deep-bench reserve remains to be seen. 

LeBron has been vocal in the past about hoping to play alongside his son, and the second they step foot on the floor together, it will be the first time in league history that a father-son duo has achieved that feat.

LeBron James has a $51.4M player option to return to L.A. next season. With his former podcast co-host coaching the team and his son now joining the team’s roster, it seems like to help the Lakers’ cause.

This article first appeared on Hoops Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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Top three notable names to leave the NBA for Europe this summer
NBA

Top three notable names to leave the NBA for Europe this summer

There are only 450 spots in the NBA, 540 if you count two-way contracts. Each year, there's a group of players who hit the free-agency market and quietly fade into the obscurity of professional basketball outside of the NBA's bubble. Most of those players head overseas, either to Europe, Australia or China. In recent years, the jump from the NBA to Europe has grown in popularity. The talent level across the top European leagues has dramatically increased, with some teams now closing in on NBA levels of skill and athleticism. And with that talent increase, the pay has started to rise, too. It makes sense, then, that some notable names for NBA fans have made the jump across the Atlantic this summer. Here are the top three players to head to Europe since the start of the offseason. Lonnie Walker IV This time last summer, there was significant chatter about whether Lonnie Walker IV would earn the 15th and final spot on the Boston Celtics roster. The same roster that had won the NBA championship just months earlier. After seeing his Exhibit 10 deal with Boston expire, Walker ended up heading to Lithuania to play for Zalgiris Kaunas before the Philadelphia 76ers brought him back for the second half of the season. Now, after failing to secure a new contract with the Sixers, Walker is heading to Israel, where he's signed a three-year, $10 million deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Walker will now be one of the highest earners within all of European basketball. Oshae Brissett Walker will join Oshae Brissett over in Tel Aviv, as the former NBA champion has also signed with the franchise this summer. Brissett is just 18 months removed from playing a role on the Celtics roster that won the 2024 championship. Brissett doesn't have the athleticism and scoring skill that Walker brings to the table. As such, he won't be bringing home the same level of pay packet. However, he will undoubtedly be one of the better players, both in the Israeli league and in Europe. Brissett leaves the NBA having played in 233 games, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on 41.9 percent shooting from two-point range and 33.7 percent from deep. Shake Milton Nobody can deny that Shake Milton has outperformed expectations after entering the NBA as the 54th pick in the 2018 draft. He leaves the NBA having suited up for 359 regular-season games and 40 postseason outings. Milton has spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Impressively, he's consistently earned playing time, regardless of what roster he's been on. Nevertheless, it would appear that Milton has sought out an opportunity where he can be a core member of a rotation. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, Milton has signed a two-year deal to play in Serbia for Partizan Belgrade. If he can adjust to the physicality of the Serbian league and the slightly different rules set, Milton could become a high-level player in the domestic league and perhaps even in Europe.

Browns make curious decision with rookie QB Shedeur Sanders
NFL

Browns make curious decision with rookie QB Shedeur Sanders

The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.

2025 Steelers Training Camp Takeaways No.4: Critical starter injured, big fight ensues, and a change in the QB pecking order
NFL

2025 Steelers Training Camp Takeaways No.4: Critical starter injured, big fight ensues, and a change in the QB pecking order

Sunday marked the last day of Week 1 of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The next time the team takes the field, it will be with pads, on Tuesday. Before we get there, however, let's take a look at everything of note from day four of Steelers training camp practice in Latrobe... Offensive Takeaways LT Broderick Jones leaves 7 Shots after getting his lower body looked at. Sits out individual drills and is replaced by Dylan Cook for the rest of the practice Rookie TE/FB DJ Thomas-Jones injures ankle RT Troy Fautanu was yanked from 7 Shots after a false start WR Roman Wilson continues to work outside, opposed to the slot Rookie QB Will Howard receives first team reps in 7on7 What it means No one player will have a bigger impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense, and frankly, the team in general, than Broderick Jones. He needs not only to be urpight, but to be good. Mike Tomlin said both Jones and WR Montana Lemonious-Craig have soft tissue injuries, while DJ Thomas-Jones seems to have one that is a little more severe. Similar to what happened with Zach Frazier yesterday, the Steelers are proving they have no time for growing pains after pulling Troy Fautanu on Sunday. Fautanu and Frazier may only be second-year players, but the team needs them to perform like seasoned professionals. It's been interesting to see the alignment of the WRs in Pittsburgh through the first four days of practice, as Roman Wilson has dominated the outside role compared to Calvin Austin, who is playing the slot. After making some nice plays in practice yesterday, Will Howard took some first-team reps in the team's 7on7 period on Sunday. The arrow contimues to point up for the sixth rounder. Defensive Takeaways Defense wins 7 shots 4-3 Cole Holcomb and Ryan McCollum get into scrum and go to the ground Rookie Yayha Black has multiple pass breakups on Mason Rudolph What it means The first four practices in Pittsburgh were dominated by the defense. The same proved true on Sunday as the team won 7 Shots yet again. We'll see if that changes when the pads come on next week. While the real fights will probably start in the dog days of camp, the Steelers had their first big scrum in Latrobe on Sunday, and it featured Cole Holcomb and center Ryan McCollum. Continuing the trend of rookies making an impact, Yahya Black helped set that tone on Sunday with multiple pass breakups at the line of scrimmage against Mason Rudolph. Tough to ask for a better start to camp than what the Steelers' rookies put forth.

Cincinnati Reds Pitch Their Way to a Sweep of Tampa Bay Rays
MLB

Cincinnati Reds Pitch Their Way to a Sweep of Tampa Bay Rays

The Cincinnati Reds (56-50) completed the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays (53-53) with a 2-1 win on Sunday. This win was all about the pitching for the Reds. BRADY SINGER SHOVES Brady Singer (8-8, 4.60 ERA) was ridiculously efficient on the afternoon. He pitched 7 1/3 innings and needed just 97 pitches to get there. His one and only run allowed was a solo home run off the bat of Taylor Walls. That was the final batter he faced. In his last start, Singer got rocked by the Washington Nationals and din’t even get our of the third inning. This is a very encouraging development as he looked a lot more like the April version of himself. PUT THE BALL IN PLAY When you don’t strike out, good things happen. Neither ball left the infield on both scoring plays for the Reds. Runs scored, nonetheless. Austin Hays got the Reds scoring started with a crazy bouncing ball that confounded Rays shortstop Taylor Walls. TJ Friedl kept his head down and never stopped running to score from second base. Then Gavin Lux added the second run on a soft ground ball fielded by Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda. As Matt McLain had stolen his way to third in the previous pitch, Aranda had no prayer of getting the Reds second baseman at the plate and settled to get Lux at first. TIRED BULLPEN Emilio Pagan got the high-pressure save as he pitched for the third-straight day. He struck out Yandy Diaz and got a couple of fly outs to close out the one-run sweep of a win. This is the third time in 2025 that Pagan has pitched in three consecutive games. Tony Santillan bailed out the Reds in the eighth after Singer allowed the homer to Walls. This is the fourth time this year that Santillan has pitched three consecutive games, and the second set this month. DIFFICULT OUTS While the Reds did not fill up the scoreboard, or even the box score on Shane Baz (8-7, 4.61), they made him work. He threw 100 pitches to get through five innings. Reds hitters were putting together the kind of at-bats that you would be proud to see in October. The Reds now welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town on Monday. Nick Lodolo will start for the Reds while the Dodgers have not yet named a starter. First pitch will be at at 7:10 PM.

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