The moment is nearly here for LeBron and Bronny James. The Los Angeles Lakers‘ father-son duo is poised to become the first active pair to share the court together throughout NBA history — and it is a story that has been a long time coming.
Playing with Bronny ticks off the last major item on LeBron’s wishlist. The 39-year-old is entering the 2024/25 season as the NBA’s oldest active player, and he has teased retirement at various points over the past two seasons — especially after he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabaar‘s record for points scored in a career in 2023. But to hear the four-time NBA champion tell it, he always knew Bronny was destined to play in the Association.
An unforgettable youth league sequence
Speaking to Spectrum SportsNet during the Lakers‘ media day on Monday, LeBron recalled the moment when he knew Bronny was made for big-time moments. The moment was so fleeting that not even Bronny’s mother Savannah fully understood what was going on — but LeBron seemed to remember it as clear as day.
“He did something, he had grabbed a rebound and like drove coast-to-coast through the lane, through a couple of the other kids and like laid it up,” LeBron said of a five-year-old Bronny. “I looked over at his mom and was like ‘he’s special’. She was like ‘What? He’s five years old.'”
LeBron has been known to stretch the truth at times when he speaks to the media, and he has also received criticism for the way he “engineered” his son’s move to the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. But the media day anecdote reveals that basketball really was in Bronny‘s blood from a young age — and despite the claims of nepotism at work, the 19-year-old traveled a hard path to the pros following a cardiac arrest last summer and a tough freshman season with the NCAA‘s USC Trojans.
While Bronny is likely to spend signficant time with the developmental South Bay Lakers during his rookie season, he could share that special moment on the hardwood with his dad on opening night, so that the Jameses dream can quickly become a reality.
