The NBA team that could spoil LeBron James’ dream of pairing up with Bronny and becoming first active father-son duo in history
Bronny James has been expected for more than a year to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
But with LeBron James' team having to wait until the end of the second round (pick No. 55 overall) on Thursday to potentially draft The King's son, it would be easy for another franchise to leap forward and steal the Lakers' mojo.
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"Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball," James tweeted in February. "The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do."
Mock drafts weren't kind to Bronny.
But one of the NBA's 30 teams will likely use a second-round pick on the former USC player, who suffered cardiac arrest during a workout last year.
Here are five teams that could disrupt LeBron's masterplan and keep Bronny away from La La Land.
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5. San Antonio Spurs
LeBron paired with Victor Wembanyama?
Heck, yes.
It would be a season-ticket blockbuster for the small-market Spurs.
There also wouldn't be any pressure on Bronny, since he could sit at the end of the bench while watching the NBA's all-time leading scorer set up the 7ft 4in Wemby play after play.
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San Antonio gave the young French star some much-needed help in the first round.
With the 48th pick on Thursday in the second round, the Spurs could add Bronny and LeBron in one league-changing move.
“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, well, he’s more like an alien,†James said in 2022 about Wembanyama. “I’ve never seen -- no one’s ever seen -- anyone as tall as he is, but it’s fluid and as graceful as on the floor."
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4. Golden State Warriors
LeBron with Stephen Curry was a hot topic at last season's trade deadline.
The Warriors drafting Bronny is as unlikely as LeBron spending the end of his career in San Antonio.
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But stranger things have happened in the NBA, and Golden State could soon be without one half of the Splash Brothers if Klay Thompson leaves in free agency.
Bronny might not score a point next year.
Yet adding LeBron and Curry -- via Bronny at No. 52 -- would send shockwaves through the NBA.
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3. Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic still needs some help and Kyrie Irving was unreliable in the recent Finals.
LeBron and Doncic in the same backcourt would be a dream for modern basketball lovers.
When Mark Cuban ran the Mavs, this is exactly the type of move he would have gone for.
Dallas couldn't beat Boston in the Finals, but the Mavericks would win the offseason if they packaged the final pick of the second round (58) and moved up to steal Bronny.
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2. Phoenix Suns
Phoenix is one decision away from blowing it all up.
Kevin Durant has already been linked with the Houston Rockets, while the Suns couldn't even win a playoff game last year.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia loves to make noise.
He needs to find a way into the second round to draft Bronny and bring LeBron to the desert.
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1. Philadelphia 76ers
Don't put anything past Daryl Morey.
The man who turned James Harden's Rockets into an annual Finals contender during the Golden State Warriors' peak also went to war with The Bear in Philly.
At his best, Morey plays chess, not checkers.
He's long eyed The King from afar.
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If the 76ers were to crash the picture and add Bronny to Joel Embiid's squad, it would be a Game of Thrones-type power play for the real trophy.
Bringing LeBron to Philly.
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