Bronny James is opening up on his decision to rock No. 9 in the NBA ..
. confirming he chose it to honor late musician Juice WRLD . LeBron 's eldest son faced the media for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker on Tuesday .
.. and after fielding several questions about his relationship with his four-time champion pops, who was in attendance for the presser, he explained how the digit he'll sport during games was far from random.
"Juice has just been a big part of me, keeping calm in some situations that I've been through," 19-year-old Bronny said minutes ago. "So yeah, just paying homage to him especially because he passed. It's a really important thing for me.
" There was a lot of speculation that was the case when the Lakers announced Bronny's number last week ...
especially considering he has a 999 tattoo behind his ear -- which Juice also had on his body. Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. 999 symbolizes the inversion of the "mark of the beast" .
.. and Juice previously said it meant "taking whatever ill, whatever bad situation, whatever struggle you’re going through and turning it into something positive to push yourself forward.
" Juice was one of the top young artists when he died of an accidental overdose at just 21 years old in December 2019 ...
a loss that left a major impact on the music industry. Bronny addressed the pressure he'll face as the son of one of the greatest to ever play basketball ..
. saying it's something he's always dealt with and.