Last week, we heard of an early “Welcome to the NBA” moment from rookie Bronny James, and it came courtesy of his own father. But that play — where LeBron took Bronny baseline for the score — was lacking Bronny’s take.
On Monday, Bronny was asked about the play. And honestly, his answer didn’t disappoint. We got a glimpse of what the father-son dynamic could be like with the Lakers this season.
When the moment was brought up in an interview at Lakers media, Bronny — with LeBron seated besides him — had to roast his father by claiming that the future Hall of Famer stepped out of bounds. LeBron wasn’t going to let Bronny have that either.
Fortunately, it sounds like Redick and the Lakers are already considering this in their organizational calculus.
During a press conference Wednesday, Redick clarified that Los Angeles has not yet nailed down specifics about when LeBron and Bronny will actually play together for the first time. That, of course, will have the duo make history as the first NBA father and son pair ever to share the floor.
However, Redick maintained the Lakers have thought about it — and that they will involve both LeBron and Bronny in planning — because it’s an important moment they want to give proper credence to:
If you think about it, this is a situation that will require a little more thought.
After all, do you start Bronny for one of the Lakers’ first few home games while giving him the equivalent of a bench player’s minutes? Do you bring him off the bench and have LeBron stagger? If it’s at home, how do you involve the Lakers’ arena staff? Is there any additional fanfare they should be ready for?
These are all questions that Redick and the Lakers have to consider before this fateful, awesome moment finally arrives. It is cool, though, to learn that both LeBron and Bronny will be involved in the planning.
LeBron James is already teaching his son Bronny about going against the best in the NBA.
During a recent team pick-up game, Los Angeles Lakers executive Rob Pelinka told reporters on Wednesday that the two James family members actually went toe-to-toe on the court.
“[Bronny James] got switched onto LeBron, and LeBron took him baseline and up and under off the glass,” Pelinka said during the team’s media day. “The words exchanged afterwards were probably more challenging than anything else.”
Alright, that’s pretty amazing. The fact that LeBron James got one over on his son and got some trash-talking in after the fact just makes you smile.
If you’re Bronny James, who better to give you a “Welcome to the NBA” moment than your dad?
The Lakers’ decision to draft Bronny was so questionable that even Kiyan’s attempt to praise it sounded like a back-handed compliment.
Lakers rookie Bronny James and high school star Kiyan Anthony are two of the most well-known sons of NBA players.
Their fathers, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, were both selected in the 2003 NBA Draft. The hoops legends won Olympic gold medals for the United States in 2008 and 2012 and were teammates in Los Angeles before Carmelo retired from professional basketball.
More than two decades after their fathers played against each other in high school, Bronny and Kiyan faced off for their respective programs in 2022. Kiyan is currently a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025 and the No. 1 rated player in New York, per 247 Sports.
During a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the high school standout was asked about Bronny getting drafted:
“It’s definitely really cool. It just shows that anybody could do it, you know? I’m coming up next and I could do it. Definitely happy for him and definitely congratulated him.”
It is unclear exactly what Kiyan meant with this quote, especially considering Bronny had tremendous resources at his disposal on his path to the pros.
He attended the prestigious Sierra Canyon School in Southern California before playing college basketball at USC. Of course, it helps that his father is a 20-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA Finals MVP.
Bronny was also drafted despite not having a tremendously successful season in the NCAA. The guard averaged less than 5.0 points per game in college. So with all of that in mind, the selection isn’t exactly the most awe-inspiring rags to riches story.
All things considered, it is unlikely that Kiyan meant any disrespect with his comments about Bronny. He has previously said that it was “fire” to see that Bronny was drafted. Kiyan added that he texted him and they chatted on the phone and that he hopes to play against him in the NBA.
Kiyan has also said that he and his dad would lose to Bronny and LeBron if they had to play against each other now, so there is some sense of admiration for their games.
But the Lakers’ decision to draft Bronny was so questionable that even Kiyan’s attempt to praise it sounded like a back-handed compliment.
When the Lakers start their regular season in a couple months against the Timberwolves, there’s a decent chance that LeBron and his son Bronny will share the court together.
It’s long been a goal of LeBron’s to play alongside his son. And given all the thought leading up to that moment, you best believe that LeBron had the whole workplace dynamic sorted out. That even includes how Bronny will address his father while they are on the court together or at the Lakers facility.
It’s already been settled: Under no circumstances can Bronny call LeBron “Dad” when they are playing together.
Is @KingJames cool with Bronny calling him “Dad” on the court? 👀🏀#TheShop Live From Paris premieres this Thursday, 8/29 on our YouTube channel!
In a preview for an upcoming episode of The Shop, LeBron was asked about what Bronny was going to call him. And in hilarious fashion, LeBron said that they already addressed it.
LeBron said:
“No, he can’t. We already laid that down. He cannot call me, ‘Dad,’ in the workplace. Once we leave out of the practice facility and the gates close, I could be dad again. In the car, we ride together. At home, I could be ‘Dad.’ No, he gotta call me like ‘2-3’ or ‘Bron.’ Or, you know, ‘GOAT’ if he wants to. It’s up to him!”
He did have a point, though. It would be so silly to hear Bronny calling for the ball by shouting, “Dad! I’m open!”
James was joined courtside by his younger brother, Bryce, for the contest, which saw the United States overcome a 17-point deficit. Several other luminaries were also on hand, including Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker, Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.
Stephen Curry erupted for 36 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:24 left to play, while Joel Embiid had 19 points and LeBron James, father and teammate of Bronny, registered a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Team USA trailed by 13 points entering the fourth quarter, but coach Steve Kerr leaned mostly on a 5-man lineup that featured Curry, Embiid, James, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The group outscored the Serbians 32-15 to set up a gold medal match with France on Saturday.
You can bet Bronny will be there to watch his father go for a third gold.
A former Celtics star and rival of the Lakers pushed back on a recent report where an unnamed player blasted Bronny James’ treatment.
Days ago, an unnamed member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team commented on having Bronny James as a teammate. While he made it clear it was nothing personal against James, he blasted what he saw as the preferential treatment the rookie got and how it supposedly hurt the rest of the team.
Because James’ father is LeBron James, he is going to continue to get plenty of criticism from people who claim nepotism is the only reason he was drafted by the Lakers or is on any NBA roster to begin with.
A former NBA star went on Fox Sports 1’s “Undisputed” to push back on that negative report. Interestingly, that star was a former rival of the Lakers — Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce (h/t Sports Illustrated).
“These are seat fillers talking. Bronny was drafted, of course they’re going to develop him.”@PaulPierce34 takes issue with Lakers source calling out Bronny in Summer League pic.twitter.com/OGGq8xWRrV
“Bronny got drafted, [Dalton] Knecht got drafted, the rest of y’all: fall in line,” Pierce stated. “They’re developing the draft picks. Y’all just here for…what they call the seat fillers when you go to the awards. … These are seat-fillers talking.”
“[The younger James] was drafted, of course they’re going to cater more to him, do more for him. … And next time you [say something], put your name on it. These are cats that are going to be training camp invitees, these are cats that’s going to be overseas somewhere, these are cats that’s going to be trying out for the G-League, and they’re over here talking anonymous.”
The 19-year-old struggled mightily with his shooting for much of summer league, but he finally found his outside shot in his last two games.
The Lakers used the No. 55 pick in last month’s draft to take him, and if he develops into a useful player, it would give them a serviceable two-way rotation player on an inexpensive rookie deal.
They signed the younger James to a four-year, $7.9 million contract a few weeks ago. That would be a big bargain if he develops into the type of player plenty think he can become, nepotism or no nepotism.
The Lakers released a video on social media to allow fans to get to know second-round draft pick Bronny James a little better.
After a mixed stint at the NBA summer league this month, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James is preparing for the start of the games that will actually count in October.
He has become a somewhat polarizing figure amidst accusations of nepotism, but in his last two summer league games, he shot well from the field. Those last two performances have generated some hope that he will at least somewhat live up to the hype.
The Lakers’ official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a video entitled “Getting to Know: Bronny James,” and in it, the son of LeBron James described himself as a combo guard who can get things done on both ends of the floor.
“Relentless defender,” the younger James said when asked to describe his game. “I can catch and shoot, knock it down, but also can create for myself and create for others.”
He mentioned seeing his famous father play as the thing that made reaching the NBA a goal for him.
“Growing up and seeing my dad in front of all the crowd and stuff, it was a dream for me,” he said.
Seeing himself being discussed as one of the nation’s best prospects in high school made him realize that he could accomplish that goal.
The No. 55 pick in June’s draft also explained why he chose to wear jersey No. 9.
“No. 9 resonated with me, especially because I had three of them tatted on me,” he said. “But Juice Wrld’s, his nine-nine-nine meaning, it’s turning everything negative and flipping it upside down.”
Juice Wrld was a star in the rap community who died in 2019 after an apparent opioid overdose. He had a tattoo of the number 999, which he admitted was an inversion of 666, something considered by extremely religious Christians to be the “mark of the beast.”
Everyone is waiting to see if the younger James can flip the criticism he and his father have been facing to become a serviceable, if not a good, NBA player in the years to come.
Bronny James may already have some leadership skills at the tender age of 19.
All eyes are on Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, as he embarks on his NBA career, and everyone is eager to see if he will live up to the hype surrounding him.
Being the son of one of the greatest basketball players ever is a heavy thing to deal with, and it could lead to a sense of entitlement. But although plenty are skeptical that the younger James even belongs in the NBA, by all accounts, he has a healthy attitude.
During summer league play, he got off to a very rough start, especially with his shooting. But he started to find the range in his last two games to give people some hope that perhaps he will become a useful player.
The younger James was mic’d up during summer league play, and it revealed his burgeoning leadership skills.
As the No. 55 pick in last month’s draft, he was given a four-year, $7.9 million contract to be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular roster. If he does indeed become a viable NBA player, it would validate at least some of the attention he has gotten while giving the franchise a young contributor, something it needs more of.
Lakers summer league guard Blake Hinson says the reports about the supposed preferential treatment Bronny James got is not true.
Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James has been the most talked-about incoming first-year NBA player, and some of the talk surrounding him has been negative.
While he appears to have some potential as a legitimate prospect, plenty have claimed the only reason the Lakers took him with the No. 55 pick in June’s draft is because of the influence of his father, LeBron James. In other words, people have been accusing the elder James’ camp of nepotism.
A couple of days ago, an unnamed member of the Lakers’ summer league team said some very unflattering things about the atmosphere surrounding the younger James. That player claimed the younger James received preferential treatment and that it had a detrimental effect on others. While none of it was personal, it could cast the 19-year-old guard in a negative light.
Blake Hinson, an undrafted guard on L.A.’s summer league squad, looked to refute the claims made by the other player.
“No. Where is that at? Honestly, you know how it is. Stuff like that doesn’t really shock me,” Hinson said in an interview with Trevor Lane and Matthew Peralta of Lakers Nation. “But we need to figure out if that’s even true because to be totally honest with you, as far as his treatment, he was just a normal guy.
“He just played basketball, he really stays out of the way. He’s a cool dude. I don’t really understand how something like that came out. So that’s nonsense to me.”
One positive thing that has been reported about the younger James is his attitude and humility, something Hinson vouched for.
“Cool dude off the court, cool dude on the court. I don’t really understand that nonsense that you just informed me about. That’s not accurate, it shouldn’t be accurate,” Hinson added.
The University of Southern California product struggled in his first several summer league games, and at one point, he missed each of his first 15 3-point attempts. But he shot a very respectable percentage in his last two games, especially from the perimeter, which raised hopes that he can make something of himself when the real games start.