LeBron James’ son and teammate, Bronny James, is in lockstep with his father, as he has broken his silence on his dad’s future with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Last week, LeBron opted into his $52.6million player option for the forthcoming NBA season, with him bring an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
The living legend made the move at age 40 after his agent Rich Paul told ESPN that James ‘wants to compete for a championship’ but ‘knows the Lakers are building for the future.’
Now, Bronny James, at 20, and his future with the Lakers murky at best, has opened up about his dad’s future. Bronny James admitted to trying to stay off social media, with one of his friends bursting that bubble.
That friend called him this week and asked him about his dad’s thoughts about where the Lakers are headed, and what it meant for the Hall of Famer’s son.
‘I said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,”‘ Bronny James said. ‘I don´t really pay attention to that stuff. There´s a lot of stuff going around that I don´t pay attention to.’
Last week, LeBron James opted into his $52.6million player option for the forthcoming season
Bronny James, is in lockstep with his father, as he has broken his silence on his dad’s future
‘We don´t really talk about that much, but I think when stuff like that does come up, he just tells me to not worry about it, not even pay attention to it,’ Bronny said. ‘Just lock in to what you have going on right now, and that’s what’s going to get me better and keep me focused. I think it’s good that he tells me not to pay attention to that stuff.’
James is not the core player his team is building around for possibly the first time in his career, entering his 23rd NBA season. It’s Luka Doncic.
While many NBA observers are interpreting the comments as a prelude to a possible trade if the Lakers aren’t an elite team in the fall, Bronny James said he isn’t thinking or looking that far ahead.
The Lakers took a big step toward contention Wednesday when center Deandre Ayton agreed to sign with them as a free agent, filling their most glaring offseason need.
Paul did stop short of issuing a trade demand on behalf of James, but the comment did raise eyebrows coming one year after the Lakers agreed to draft LeBron’s son Bronny – a move many viewed as a gift to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
The Lakers struggled without Davis in the paint last season, with Jaxson Hayes playing poorly enough to get benched by coach JJ Redick in the final games. Los Angeles was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by Minnesota in five games, with big man Rudy Gobert racking up 27 points and 24 rebounds in the clinching victory while the Lakers largely played without a center.
James, who has played in 1,562 regular-season games, is 50 shy of breaking Hall of Fame member Robert Parish’s NBA record. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games in 2024-25 to rank in the top 22 in each category.
