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Bronny James could have taken a path completely different from what his father — and now Los Angeles Lakers teammate — LeBron James. But basketball seems to be the true calling of the younger James, who was selected by Los Angeles in the second round (55th overall) in the 2024 NBA Draft.
For LeBron, Bronny's decision to pursue a career in basketball despite all the other options he could have taken with the resources he has at his disposal is admirable.
“Just imagine if you were a kid, you were born into a situation where your dad was super famous, super wealthy and you the kid still had the drive to want to be able to accomplish things for yourself,” LeBron continued. “I personally don't know if I would've been able to do that if the roles were reversed,” LeBron said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Lakers' LeBron James opens up about Bronny James' journey to the NBA
Bronny never experienced what LeBron had to deal with growing up. The older James wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. LeBron's life challenges off the basketball court as a kid have been well documented, and it makes his rise into becoming a global superstar and transcendent figure even more impressive. Bronny, on the other hand, did not have to worry about the same obstacles his dad had before getting into the NBA. That being said, Bronny deserves praise for having the strength to keep going with his hoops career even after a scary medical episode.
“When I was coming up, I had no choice. I literally had no choice. … I had to make it out for me. My mom, my family, my hometown, my city. Bronny has all the choices in the world. If Bronny wants to stop right now or never played basketball or just wanted to be a gamer or wanted to be a chef or wanted to be nothing to whatever, he could have done that. … People don't understand how hard that is and the commitment for him to be coming out of heart surgery less than a year ago, for him to be able to be in the NBA, the kid, he's special.
LeBron and Bronny indeed took different paths to the NBA and the expectation people had of the former was galaxies apart from the latter's. LeBron was already being proclaimed as a franchise savior long before he was taken first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft. Bronny, on the other hand, has plenty of work to do if he is to even come remotely close to the level his dad has attained in the NBA.
In any case, Bronny's arrival in the NBA fulfills yet another one of LeBron's dreams. Not only has Bronny made it to the NBA with LeBron still in the league but they're also going to be playing alongside each other on the same team. No father-son tandem in the history of the league has ever played an NBA game together but that's about to happen in the coming 2024-25 NBA regular season — LeBron's 22nd of his incredibly lengthy pro career.
LeBron, who's spent the last six seasons with the Lakers, signed a two-year deal worth $101.35 million with Los Angeles that comes with a player option for the 2025-26 campaign.
