Six years ago, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James predicted that by around 2024, his son Bronny would be playing in the NBA. The prediction came true: on 23 October, he played alongside James Jr. for the Lakers in a match against Minnesota. Here’s how it happened.
A childhood under control
LeBron’s first son was born on 6 October 2004. James was only 19 at the time, and his legendary career was just beginning — he had only one season in the NBA under his belt and was named Rookie of the Year. The Cleveland forward named his child LeBron Jr., but as he grew older, his son did not want to be his father’s namesake and asked to be called Bronny.
LeBron did not deliberately raise his son to be a basketball player, but he kept an eye on his son’s preferences. Bronny played basketball and football with his younger brother Bryce, but some activities were off limits. James Sr. explained it this way: ‘In high school, they can choose any sport, but now is not the time. It’s a matter of safety. They can play anything but American football and hockey. As a parent, you try to protect your child as much as possible.’
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The guardianship also extended to social media accounts. LeBron allowed Bronny to create a profile on one of them at the age of 14, even though his son had asked for it at 11. At the time of registration, James Jr. was already so popular that 50,000 people subscribed to him in the first 15 minutes. Sixteen hours later, the number of followers had increased to one million. Bronny now has about 8 million followers.
Support and PR
In addition to his debut on social media, another important event happened for Bronny at the age of 14: he played for the Santa Monica school basketball team for the first time. LeBron was, of course, present in the stands. James often attended his son’s games, highlighted the best moments of his play on his social media accounts, and even produced a documentary series about Bronny’s team.
Thanks to his father’s media influence, the young man released his own merchandise. Clothes with LeBron’s son’s image were sold online. Rapper Drake even appeared in public wearing one of the T-shirts. This PR campaign led to Bronny appearing on the cover of the popular magazine Sports Illustrated at the age of 16 and signing an advertising contract with Nike at 18.
At the same time, things were going well on the basketball court, but not everyone shared LeBron’s enthusiasm for his son. For example, in 2020, ESPN compiled a list of the potentially best graduates for 2023 — Bronny was ranked only 24th. LeBron, however, continued to insist to the public that he had a talented heir: ‘I was watching the NBA today and realised that Bronny is just as good as some of the players.’
A sporting career hanging in the balance
In the summer of 2023, James Jr. joined the University of Southern California to try his hand at the student level. But one of his first training sessions ended tragically: Bronny lost consciousness while doing a running exercise and suffered cardiac arrest.
Thanks to the coordinated actions of the team’s medical staff, the young man was kept alive and taken to intensive care. James was discharged from hospital a few days later. This outcome was very fortunate. According to Stanford University, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is fatal in 90% of cases.
A little later, doctors discovered that Bronny had a congenital heart defect and performed the necessary surgery. According to LeBron, his son’s biggest concern in this situation was whether he would be able to continue playing basketball. James Jr. was given the green light, and four months later he played his first game in the NCAA college league. But even more than a year later, Bronny is still feeling the effects of the incident. ‘I still feel like I’m not back to where I was before,’ the basketball player said in an October interview with Men’s Health magazine.
Entering the draft
The University of Southern California team had a mediocre season, and Bronny’s recovery did not save them. After his cardiac arrest, the player did not perform well, averaging less than five points per game. People in the basketball world expected James to stay in the college league for another season to play it out fully and make a name for himself. But Bronny entered the NBA draft — his father was not getting any younger, and both of them still wanted to play together.
In May, James underwent a medical examination by the NBA medical commission and was cleared to play in the league. The player received invitations to tryouts from various teams, but accepted only two: the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers. “I would be happy just to play in the league. I don’t have a goal to play alongside my father. I want people to know me as Bronny James, not as LeBron’s son,” said the young player.
In the end, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted James Jr. with the 55th pick. LeBron was drafted first in 2003, but he was still very happy for his son: ‘The kid had to go through a lot to get to this point. When his name was called, the emotions were unreal. Our family doesn’t have the words to describe these feelings.’