Second-Generation Ballers: Rising NBA Stars Whose Parents Were Also Players

When you're the child of a legendary athlete, expectations for your athletic prowess are high. From Bronny James to Devin Booker, these rising stars in the NBA are not at all shy about following in their parents' sporty footsteps.

LeBron James: LeBron 'Bronny' James Jr.

With a four-time NBA championship winner and three-time Olympic medalist for a father, it would've been surprising if Bronny James didn't follow in dad LeBron James' footsteps.

The 18-year-old has quite an impressive career budding: he led his high school basketball team, Sierra Canyon School, to a win against his dad's alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, back in 2019. And last July, Bronny was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the tender age of 16 — one-upping his superstar dad, who made his SI debut at 17 years old.

As though that wasn't enough, Bronny was also one of five rising stars to sign an NIL (name, image and likeness) deal with Nike in October 2022. Details of the deal were kept under wraps, but ESPN reported that "Nike plans to partner with each student-athlete on a variety of community efforts in their hometowns."

For his part, the elder James has always been supportive of his son's love for the game and has been quite vocal about wanting to eventaully play his firstborn professionally. "Bronny is number one on my list," the basketball legend stated on an episode of The Shop. Asked whether or not his offspring could beat him, LeBron gave the idea a hard "No."

On May 7, 2023, Bronny announced via Instagram that he would be playing college basketball at the University of Southern California.

Dennis Rodman: D.J. Rodman

On May 10, Dennis Rodman's son, D.J. Rodman revealed he'll be transferring from Washington State and taking his talents to the University of Southern California to complete his final collegiate season.

"All these ups and downs, lefts and rights led me to Fight On✌️ #committed #gotrojans," D.J. wrote in an Instagram caption, which featured picture illustrations of him in a USC uniform.

The 20-year-old, 6-foot-6 forward will join Bronny James as a fellow Trojan.

Shaquille O'Neal: Shareef O'Neal

Unlike most NBA dads, Shaquille O'Neal was not so keen on letting his son join the big league — but with good reason. Shareef O'Neal has seen a string of health issues, the most severe of which required him to undergo major heart surgery during his freshman year at UCLA after doctors found an ailment. Naturally, his protective dad prefers he pace himself a bit before joining the pros.

Shareef, on the other hand, disagrees. "He wanted me to stay in school," the second-gen star told ESPN of his dad during a pre-daft workout with the Lakers. "He knows I'm working out with teams. But I'm not going to lie, we ain't talked about this. I'm kind of just going through it."

And because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Shareef's tenacity ultimately paid off: he was drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract in June 2022 and played for the purple and gold during the Summer League.

The 22-year-old has since moved onto the G League Ignite, a Nevada-based NBA developmental team that "focuses on high-level competition and accelerated on-court development for players who are beginning their professional careers," per the team website.

Scottie Pippen Sr.: Scotty Pippen Jr.

We know Scottie Pippen Sr. as one of the key players in making the Chicago Bulls a household name back in the '90s, but there's another Pippen in town who's flawlessly carrying the torch.

A Sierra Canyon School graduate, Scotty joined the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent on a two-way contract after playing for Vanderbilt University for three years. Though he has his father's incredible legacy looming above him, it's the advice of veteran players and teammates such as LeBron James and Russell Westbrook that's helping him pave his own path.

"[LeBron] told me that I've been around the game even if I don't feel like I have, that my dad's put me through this and that," he told PEOPLE. "You have an advantage over these guys, so at the end of the day just focus on basketball ... at the end of the day, you're the only one on the court, so make sure you find something that brings you peace.'"

The memories of his dad's days as an NBA player are vague — Scottie Sr. retired when his Jr. was only 8, after all — but the 22-year-old always had dreams of making it into the league, and his legendary pops has been supportive.

"I tried to talk him through it his whole life, just teaching him the game and making him feel like that's the path you're on," the six-time NBA champion told PEOPLE. "You just teach him and hope for the blessing of God and a little luck and things falling in your way, but it's about preparing him for it and hoping and praying it happens."

Kenyon Martin Sr.: Kenyon 'KJ' Martin Jr.

Like his powerhouse dad, Kenyon Martin Jr. — more commonly referred to as KJ — has made quite the impression since being drafted in 2020. A small forward for the Houston Rockets, 21-year-old KJ has not only become a key player for the young team, but he's also gained the hearts of fans because of his dynamic presence on the court.

Though he's got the crowd's favor, Kenyon Sr. seems to think KJ can do better. While talking to SiriusXM NBA Radio, the Hall of Famer voiced some of his concerns about his son playing for the Rockets, stating, "I just want a better situation for him, as far as winning. Houston is Houston. The way it's looking now ... they're going to have another lottery pick and be even younger."

While he acknowledged Houston is the best place for his son to get his feet wet and earn some stripes, in the long term, the NBA veteran prefers KJ go to a more developed team. "When you look at Milwaukee, Brooklyn, San Antonio, Miami, Phoenix, even New Orleans how they approach the game and play, I would love for him to be in a situation where people approach every situation like that, and help their young guys get better. We'll see what's next," he concluded.

Melvin Booker: Devin Booker

Kendall Jenner's former beau also has an athletic pedigree: Devin Booker's father, Melvin had a short stint in the NBA back in the late '90s. His entire career spanned only 32 games between 1995 and 1997, and he played for three teams: the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.

Though Melvin's career in the NBA was short-lived, it was enough to intrigue a young Devin. The athlete made the decision to go pro when he was around 13 years old and after seeing his "love and passion" for the sport, Melvin dedicated his time to mentoring Devin, he told ESPN.

There were some doubts at first, but once Melvin saw his son play in the summer AAU circuits in high school, he quickly realized Devin was a force. "Devin was having success against the likes of Julius Randle, Andrew Wiggins, Aaron Gordon, Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker — all of whom went on to NBA careers," ESPN reported at the time. Melvin stepped up and became Devin's coach and mentor, teaching him how to play like the pros, how to properly train and how to eat right.

Obviously, all those years and gems of wisdom paid off as Devin was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He won the 2018 JBL Three-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend and in 2020, he attended All-Star Weekend as an All-Star player himself.

Arvydas Sabonis: Domantas Sabonis

The name Arvydas Sabonis probably doesn't mean much to most Americans, but in actuality, Arvydas is one of the greatest European basketball players of all time. With a career that spanned 15 seasons, Arvydas was a two-time European Player of the Year, Olympic gold medalist, six-time Euroscar Player of the Year, four-time Lithuaninan Sportsman of the Year and a three-time USSR League Champion.

A decade into his illustrious career, he was drafted from Lithuania to the Portland Blazers where he became a major player despite not being at his peak.

Just over a decade after retiring, Domantas entered the NBA. Unlike his father whose talents may or may not have been stifled under the Soviet Union, Domantas (or Domas as his family calls him) has had the freedom and opportunity to really showcase his athleticism. The 6-foot-11 power forward was sought out by Gonzaga University coaches while playing in Spain, and at only 20-years-old, he was the no. 11 overall pick, drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2016 (he was later traded to Oklahoma City Thunder on draft night).

Domantas is a two-time NBA All-Star, having made the prestigious All-Star team in 2020 and 2021.

Asked about similarities to his legendary dad, Domantas told NBA.com, "I personally don't see comparisons. But my family and my dad's friends, they grew up watching my dad play, they say they see so many similarities it's crazy."

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