LeBron James` two sons are reaching significant points in their basketball journeys. Bronny James is getting ready for his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers after spending a good portion of his initial year in the G League, while Bryce James is starting his first year at Arizona. Despite the increasing attention on his sons, LeBron states he has always maintained a non-interfering stance regarding their on-court progress, trusting the coaches to do their jobs without his input.
“I`ve never gotten involved with my kids` coaches,” LeBron shared on a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast. “From Bronny`s youth development to where he is currently, and Bryce heading to Tucson for Arizona, I`ve never interfered. I`ve never attended an entire practice to observe how my son was being used. I never contacted the coaches.”
Naturally, this commitment to staying out of the way has a slight exception – the Lakers happened to draft Bronny in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft not long after LeBron publicly mentioned his desire to play alongside his son. Nevertheless, there is no solid proof that LeBron directly influenced this decision.
Bronny appeared in 27 games for Los Angeles last season, averaging only 2.3 points in 6.7 minutes per game. He played in 11 games for the South Bay Lakers, where his statistics were considerably more impressive: 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per contest.
“Listen, coach my son – coach him however you wish,” LeBron continued. “And I believe you must hold him accountable. I hope you hold him more accountable than any other kid here, and say exactly what you need to say, regardless of how it`s said. If he can just grasp the message and not focus on the delivery – just take the core message – I think that helps build character as well.”
“I think that`s partly why they are where they are at this stage in their lives. Pampering your child and always believing your child is perfect, and preventing coaches from coaching them or people from being tough on them – as soon as a coach or someone says something to them, you remove them and go elsewhere. Or as soon as someone says something negative about your child, you`re the first one to confront that person. It`s like, then you should just coach them yourself.”
Even while sharing a locker room with Bronny, LeBron insists his role is clear: he is primarily a father, allowing coaches to guide his sons` development on the basketball court.
Jasper Hawthorne