NEW YORK — Bronny James heard his named called in the NBA draft, and history was made.

With the No. 55 pick in the second round, the Los Angeles Lakers selected James. Deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the pick from ESPN’s Seaport studio on the edge of lower Manhattan’s Financial District where the second round took place.

Bronny, and his dad, NBA star LeBron James, are the first father-son player pair in the NBA at the same time. Bronny, 19, was drafted nearly 21 years to the date after LeBron was chosen No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.

He is a 6-2 guard with exceptional leaping ability and a strong defensive disposition.

Bronny has had a scary and exciting year. He sustained a life-threatening cardiac arrest while working out on Southern California’s campus in July, leaving his basketball future unclear.

Before his cardiac arrest, Bronny had a strong senior season in high school and had become a potential first-round pick. The cardiac arrest, which was the result of a congenital heart defect, set back his development. He had surgery to repair the defect, was cleared to play for the Trojans and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists and shot 36.6% from the field and 26.7% on 3-pointers in 25 games during his freshman season in 2023-24.

The NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel also cleared James for NBA play.

At one point, LeBron said he wanted to play alongside Bronny, but the elder James has distanced himself from that sentiment saying as far back as a year ago that what the son wants isn’t always what the dad wants.

“I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course he’s, he’s brought it up a couple times. But yeah, I don’t think about it,” Bronny said at the draft combine in May.