Bronny James is making history in the NBA and it means his first jersey will be remembered for many years to come.

James, son of icon LeBron, was selected as a second-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and he is now preparing to make his debut in the league. 

Bronny has made NBA history by playing alongside LeBron

The pair broke new boundaries during pre-season as they became the first-ever father and son to play together in the NBA. 

There’s no doubt that pressure will be on Bronny due to who his father is, with all eyes on him every time he steps onto the court. 

It means fans will see the No.9 on the back of his jersey regularly and there’s a special reason why he is wearing the digits…

Why does Bronny James wear No.9?

James wears the number nine as a tribute to one of his favourite rappers.

The 20-year-old is a huge fan of Juice WRLD, who sadly passed away in 2019. 

James explained his jersey decision after being drafted by the Lakers while speaking at his introductory press conference in July.

He said: “Juice [WRLD] has just been a big part of me keeping calm in situations that I’ve been through.

“Just paying homage to him, especially because he passed. It’s a really important thing for me.”

Juice WRLD had the number ‘999’ tattooed on his arm and used the digits very regularly in his music and on social media. 

The late rapper had a specific reason behind his use of the number, saying: “If you’re a person that believes in anything that has to do with the Bible, I think in the last book of the Bible it says that 666 is the mark of the beast. And that’s Satan.

Bronny picked No.9 after being drafted to pay homage to Juice WRLDGetty

“999 represents taking whatever hell, whatever bad situation or whatever struggle you’re going through and turning it into something positive.”

It’s a message that James seems to have resonated with as he also has ‘999 LLJW’ in his Instagram bio. 

He pays homage to the numbers that meant a lot to his favourite artist while also following it with ‘LLJW’ which stands for ‘Long Live Juice WRLD’.

Bronny wore No.6 while at college, but he’s now made the change to No.9 and it will be garnering a huge amount of attention this year as he plays alongside his dad. 

4x NBA champion and basketball icon LeBron has spoken of his pride at playing with his son and described it as ‘pure joy’ during pre-season. 

It’s going to be tough for the rookie though, as the transition from college basketball to the NBA is incredibly difficult. 

And it’s certainly going to be tough to deal with the pressure of having the James name on his jersey on top of that.