Brooklyn. Bronny James — the oldest son of LeBron James, 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.

“Beyond blessed,” Bronny James wrote in an Instagram post.

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.

“In the history of the NBA, there’s never been a father and a son that have shared an NBA basketball court and that feels like something that could be magical,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “We know, and have to respect of course, that LeBron has a decision on his opt-out ... but if it worked out that he was on our team next season, NBA history could be made. And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform.”

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.

But LeBron James' incredible longevity — he'll match Vince Carter for the longest career as an NBA player ever this coming season, which will be his 22nd in the league — makes the father-son duo possible.

It's possible that Bronny James' debut in a Lakers uniform could be July 12 in Las Vegas, in the franchise's summer league opener against the Houston Rockets.

There will be cries of nepotism, cries that the Lakers did this only because of who LeBron James is. But Pelinka insisted that the Lakers will have a plan for Bronny James' development, that the organization sees his potential and that he personally has been impressed with the character Bronny James showed while growing up.

Pelinka and the Lakers staff, including newly hired coach J.J. Redick, made the call to Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul before the pick was made and were able to speak with Bronny James moments before the selection was officially official.

“Coach Redick and I were able to welcome him to the Lakers family and let him know that this moment was happening mostly because of the work he’s put into the game and because of the character young man that he is,” Pelinka said. “That was what was expressed to him on the phone call.”

Bronny James played one year of college basketball at USC and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in 25 games, missing the start of the season after needing a procedure last year to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, which was found after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout.

A panel of doctors cleared Bronny James for NBA play last month.