Bronny James Ready to Carve Out His Own NBA Identity Away From Father LeBron
For the first time in his young career, Bronny James enters an NBA season not as a teammate of his father, LeBron James, who has since signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bronny James is entering his NBA season with the Lakers with a new dynamic: without his father, LeBron James, on the same team. LeBron James famously left the Lakers in free agency to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, marking the first time in Bronny's career he won't be playing alongside his superstar father.
"Feels like he's not here," Bronny James said at Lakers' training facility. "I don't really have an opinion on that. That's my dad, I spent 22 years almost living with him, so yeah, just another experience that I'm gonna be a part of and excited to see how it's going to feel during the season too."
LeBron James' decision to join the 76ers came after eight seasons with the Lakers, the longest consecutive tenure he has had with any franchise since entering the league in 2003. The elder James stated his motivation was to pursue a championship, saying, "I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round."
Bronny James acknowledged that he and his father did not extensively discuss LeBron's move. "We're men of very little words when it comes to talking about business, what we're going to do and how we feel about each other," Bronny explained. "So there wasn’t really much to be honest with you."
The younger James expressed his support for his father's decision. "He's got his own path and I got my own," Bronny said. "So he knows that I want to make a name for myself and continue my career and keep growing as a player. And he knows that I want to focus on that. So he decides to do that, I’m happy for him and excited to see where their season goes."
The Lakers are scheduled to host the 76ers on Christmas Day, marking LeBron James' return to Southern California. The two teams will meet again in Philadelphia on March 4.
Since being selected as the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, Bronny James has been navigating the league in his father's substantial shadow. He is now looking to establish his own NBA identity.
"For me, just the motivating factor of creating my own path and my own career makes me want to get up every day and work hard," Bronny stated. "Come in the gym and learn from guys that have been around longer than me. And it’s just something that I’ve followed my entire life. You guys know me as Bronny and my real name is LeBron, like, I’ve been doing this for however long, so I think it’s a motivating factor for me just getting up every day and trying to prove myself as Bronny instead of LeBron."
Recently, Bronny James defeated his father in a game of golf, an outcome he jokingly noted made LeBron "pretty pissed about it."