Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing the world knows, it’s that LeBron James is a living legend in the NBA in every way, shape, and form and that his kids are his legacy. It’s no surprise that the latter will be held to a much higher standard if they choose to pursue a career in the sports industry too. Many might deem this unfair since both his sons are following in his footsteps, but his eldest has taken it as a challenge. After all, although it was only briefly explored in Netflix’s ‘Starting 5,’ he doesn’t just have dreams of evolving into a professional NBA athlete like his dad; he has already done it.
Bronny James’ Early Years Set a Precedent for His Career
Born on October 6, 2004, LeBron Raymone “Bronny” James Jr. was born to high school sweethearts Savannah Brinson and LeBron James while they were just 18 and 19 years old, respectively. However, since they were together and the latter was just recognized as NBA Rookie of the Year, they were able to build a good, stable home for themselves before eventually tying the knot in 2013. By that point, they had also already welcomed their second son into this world, Bryce Maximus, only for their youngest, Zhuri Nova, to be born in October 2014, completing their family for good.
Bronny’s interest in sports essentially stemmed early on in his childhood, considering his household, but his passion was initially spread across basketball, football, and hockey. But owing to safety and health concerns surrounding the latter two, his parents did push him more towards basketball, unaware he was actually just as talented as his father. In fact, by the time he was 10, highlights from his games were drawing national attention to such an extent he was soon selected to play for the Miami City Ballers junior team.
This was actually followed by Bronny joining the North Coast Blue Chips team while attending Old Trail Middle School. He then helped the latter secure an Independent School League tournament win, too, unaware the entire James family would soon relocate to California. There, he enrolled at Crossroads School before ultimately transferring to Sierra Canyon School, where he again proved his mettle. He helped them win two California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division titles before graduating in the summer of 2023 with the decision to attend the University of Southern California (USC).
Bronny James is Officially a Los Angeles Laker
The James family did endure a shock on July 24, 2023, as Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice session at USC, following which it came out he had a congenital heart defect. Thankfully, though, it wasn’t too serious, and he was discharged from the hospital three days later, with his only questions being if he could play basketball again, and if so, how soon? Less than five months later, on December 10, he actually made his debut for his college team without any issues, just to close his freshman year with 25 games, where he started six and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 19.3 minutes.
On April 5, 2024, Bronny announced he would not only be putting his name into the 2024 NBA draft but also be maintaining his college eligibility while entering the transfer portal to keep all his options open. Little did he know he wouldn’t need the latter as he would be selected 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, making him and LeBron the first active father-son duo in the history of the NBA. In fact, he made his professional debut earlier in October against the Minnesota Timberwolves, just to make history on his 20th birthday, on October 6, by actually playing with his father in the first half against the Phoenix Suns on home court.
We should also mention that Bronny already has a few trademarks for different variations of his name, alongside brand deals with the likes of Google and Nike, making it clear he is as much of a businessman as his father. In other words, no matter what may be, he plans on continuing his father’s legacy because he understands that while the game of basketball is a big part of it, their being as civilians as well as brands also has an influence. This is seemingly just part of the reason why the LA Lakers selected him without worries, likely knowing they would get a lot of public traction and not have to worry about favoritism. That’s because the father-son duo just maintains support, pride, and unwavering professionalism – Bronny doesn’t even call LeBron dad in the workplace.
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