LeBron James doesn’t want his son Bronny James to call him “Dad” when they are on the court together. But the 39-year-old NBA superstar couldn’t help avoid being a parent for a moment when he pulled a total Dad move just minutes into Lakers Media Day.
At the conclusion of an interview session with Spectrum SportsNet, LeBron and Bronny performed their usual special handshake and as LeBron hopped off his chair he told his son, “Love you, Kid.”
It’s a short and sweet message from a father to a son. LeBron is living every dad’s dream which is to be able to come to work with your son. We may not be able to play with our sons in the NBA, but we all dream about having our boy work with us side by side in whatever professional setting. Whether it’d be at the office or at the family business, being able to be on the same team as your son check’s every dad’s bucket list.
“Just pure joy, man,” LeBron told Spectrum SportsNet. “I don’t have any words. I can speak about me. You guys ask me questions about me. When it comes to him, I’m just at a loss for words.
“Just super proud. Super proud of him to get to this point. He’s a man. He’s ready to go. Whatever questions you got for him, go ahead and let him have it.”
Spectrum’s Chris McGee asked Bronny what would he call his dad on the court. The 19-year-old rookie replied, “I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s probably gonna be, like, Bron. Bron would be the easiest.”
LeBron will be entering his seventh season with the Lakers, and record-tying 22nd season in the NBA. It will be a special season for LeBron because his eldest son will be wearing the same uniform. LeBron James and Bronny James will make history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA.
The Lakers will be in uncharted territory when the season begins on Oct. 22 as new head coach JJ Redick and his staff, which includes former NBA coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan, will have to chart a plan and navigate around the challenge of carving out minutes for LeBron and Bronny to be on the court together.
It would be foolish for Redick to simply plug in Bronny into the Lakers’ normal rotation given that he’s extremely young and raw, and probably needs time in the G League to polish his game.
“I think Bronny is a young guy,” Redick told Zach Lowe on “The Lowe Post” podcast. “I am very high on him as a basketball player and I said this at his press conference I said he is kinda like our first player that we get to mold and help develop. So we’re going to look at the G League as a tool in our player development system.”
Since he started gaining notoriety in high school, Bronny has been groomed to play pro ball. He and his younger brother, Bryce, both signed with Klutch Sports Group in 2022. The agency was co-founded by LeBron and his close friend Rich Paul. Klutch helped facilitate Bronny’s draft destination, and he eventually landed with the Lakers as the 55th selection (second round) in the 2024 draft.
Bronny’s performance during the NBA summer league should offer an indication of what type of role he’ll have early in his Lakers career. He averaged 8.8 points on 35.0 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in four summer league games. Those are modest numbers, which suggests he’s far from being a regular contributor on the Lakers. But because of the amount of attention on the James family and the prospects of a historic event, Bronny’s learning curve will be accelerated and he will be on the bench when the season tips off.
It’s a tough position to be in if you’re Bronny, but at least he’ll have his dad close by in case he falls. Every good parent will catch their kids if they fall.