Entertainment
LeBron James is feeling “pure joy” as he begins Lakers training camp with his son Bronny
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) – LeBron James begins his twenty second training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers this week, and this one will probably be a singular experience.
The NBA’s profession scoring leader shares the locker room and court with Bronny James, his 19-year-old son and the Lakers’ second-round draft pick. They will probably be soon the primary father and son in NBA history play together, fulfilling an aspiration first expressed by LeBron several years ago.
The 20-time All-Star didn’t downplay his excitement Monday that considered one of his few remaining basketball dreams had come true.
“There’s a lot of emotion,” LeBron said. “Honestly, it is a pure joy to come back to work every single day, work hard with my son every single day and see him grow. We push one another. He pushes me, I push him. We push our teammates. It’s just a really comfortable moment, not just for me but in addition for our family.”
Father and son wore gold Lakers uniforms together on the team’s media day, posing for countless photos and giving interviews that showcased the family’s easy banter. Bronny’s latest No. 9 jersey reads “JAMES JR.” on the back, in a nod to his full name, LeBron James Jr.
Their partnership is a dream for 39-year-old LeBron, but for Bronny, who turns 20 on Sunday, it was largely surreal. After growing up and excelling in basketball within the shadow of his famous father, Bronny balances the thrill of creating it to the NBA with the duty of adapting to the unprecedented challenge of wearing the identical uniform as his devoted father.
“I think what I’m most looking forward to is training and competing head-to-head with each other,” Bronny said. “It’s a crazy feeling training with my dad and competing at a high level. But then again, dealing with LeBron James every day is a lot of work. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it too.”
They could also be working together, but not every single day will probably be Take Your Son to Work Day for LeBron: Bronny says he’s “definitely not” driving with his father from their home to Lakers practices.
“That’s it, we’ve been grouped together,” Bronny said with a broad smile. “I’d like to stay as far away from this guy as possible.”
LeBron gets it, he said with a grimace.
“Honestly, if you have kids, which is my age and his age, there’s not a lot of interaction on a day-to-day basis,” LeBron said. “He comes, he eats, he goes to his room, he plays a video game. If I’m there with my wife watching a movie, he’ll come over. So it’s not a lot of like, “Meet me at the table at 5 p.m.” We need to discuss work tomorrow. It doesn’t happen.”
On his YouTube talk show, LeBron confirmed his offseason declaration that Bronny couldn’t call him “daddy” at work. Bronny is not so sure, though he admits he’ll try saying “Bron.”
“Whatever comes out of my mouth when I try to talk to him, he will accept it,” Bronny said with a smile. “It doesn’t really mean much. I have not really approached him in any way yet, so we’ll see the way it all goes.
New Lakers coach JJ Redick said last week that he and his family would plan for his or her historic joint appearance firstly of the regular season. It is also assumed that Bronny will spend many of the upcoming season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers, honing his skills after playing sparingly during his only college season in Southern California.
“If we get some opportunities on the court throughout the season, that would obviously be amazing,” LeBron said. “It’s going to be amazing. We will wait for that moment when that happens and then we will act.”
LeBron was 6’1″ during his NBA career and had realistic goals for his 6’1″ son.
“We see him continue to grow as a basketball player, whether he’s here with us or on the G League team, and he continues to get better and better,” LeBron said. “We need to hold him accountable. He will hold us accountable and if all of us do that, we are going to all be higher because we’re all one team. We are a mirrored image of the South Bay. The South Bay is a mirrored image of us. … We will proceed to grow, accumulating days. I do know he will because that is what he wants.
The remainder of the Lakers had nothing but positive thoughts concerning the arrival of their superstar’s son. Anthony Davis takes first-hand pride in Bronny’s arrival, watching his development over the past half-century from teenager to NBA prospect.
“It’s amazing. It’s historic. This is powerful,” Davis said. “Bronny’s locker is across from mine, so every time I go in there and see him, it’s still surreal to me that he’s on the same team as his dad. I can’t wait for them to get on the court and officially make history, but so far it’s been really great to watch.”