As LeBron James prepares for his 24th NBA campaign with a new franchise, the most striking aspect of his decision to change teams remains the separation from his son, Bronny James, who stays behind in Los Angeles.
Following his 41-year-old father’s departure for the Philadelphia 76ers, Bronny is entering his third professional season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The younger James enters the week continuing his efforts to earn a consistent rotation role with the franchise that selected him in the 2024 draft in the family’s adopted hometown.
The duo spent the past two seasons as the first father-son teammates in NBA history, an achievement LeBron previously described as comparable to any of his championship rings. Ultimately, however, the all-time leading scorer in league history decided his hunger for another title outweighed his desire to remain alongside Bronny.
In his first extensive public remarks regarding this unusual scenario on Monday, Bronny confirmed he harbors no anger or disappointment regarding his father’s exit. He is already well aware that navigating a career when your father is LeBron James means acknowledging that many things are larger than oneself.
“Happy for him, and excited for where their season goes,” Bronny said. “I’m excited to see him on Christmas, excited to play against him on Christmas. It’s going to be good.”
The 76ers visit the Lakers on December 25.
While LeBron’s commitment to being an attentive father to his three children is well-documented, Bronny explained that the pair did not have extensive discussions regarding the move.
“We’re men of very little words when it comes to talking about business and what we’re going to do and how we feel about each other,” Bronny said with a smile. “It wasn’t really much, to be honest with you. He’s got his own path and I’ve got my own, so he knows that I want to make a name for myself and want to continue my career and keep growing as a player, and he knows I’ll want to focus on that, so he decided to (move).”
As LeBron meets his new teammates and settles into Philadelphia this week, his son is getting back to work with the Lakers. LeBron will no longer be a constant presence in the locker room and on the road to offer guidance and leadership – nor will he be present for Bronny’s 22nd birthday next week.
That causes no concern for Bronny, who remained completely unfazed as he navigated his first Lakers media day without his father’s massive presence and booming voice nearby.
“Feels like he’s not here,” Bronny said at the Lakers’ training complex. “I don’t really have an opinion on that. That’s my dad. I’ve spent almost 22 years with him, so just another experience that I’m going to be a part of, and I’m excited how it’s going to feel during the season. So I’m looking forward to it.”
LeBron indicated this week that he left Los Angeles to pursue a fifth championship ring. The clear implication of that statement is his belief that Philadelphia presents a better opportunity for a title than Los Angeles, where the Lakers won just a single playoff round over the previous three seasons.
Yet Bronny remains optimistic about the Lakers’ potential to build an exciting and distinctly younger core around NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic and dynamic guard Austin Reaves. Incoming center Walker Kessler is expected to provide a clear upgrade near the basket and on lob finishes, representing just one of nine new players looking to establish roles in Los Angeles.
“Everyone is young, so there’s a lot of energy flowing around, and I think we feed off each other,” Bronny said. “I don’t know yet, because we haven’t played a game, but because we’re young and we’re finding a way to get close to each other, I think we can feed off each other’s energy. There’s going to be a lot of guys that can go out and give full effort, turn up the game, and we can probably play fast because of how young we are. … We have a good chance of making it far.”
LeBron brought an end to the family partnership just as Bronny appeared to be on the verge of breaking through into a regular role. Bronny saw consistent playing time late last season and in the postseason while Doncic and Reaves were out with injuries, sharing the floor with his father for significant minutes during the Lakers’ first-round upset of the Houston Rockets.
Bronny aims to build on his progress as a secondary ballhandler and point-of-attack defender, two roles where he excelled over long stretches last spring. His father will not be present to provide direct critiques and advice, but Bronny is ready to figure things out independently while drawing on support from his coaches and teammates.
“I think I did play my role pretty well in the Houston series, and that’s something I can grow off of,” Bronny said. “Showing up every day and playing my game and being relentless both sides of the floor and making sure I’m getting my teammates involved and disrupting on the defensive end of the floor.”