The season hasn’t even started yet, but it hasn’t stopped LeBron James from giving his son everything he’s got. During a media press conference on Wednesday, GM Rob Pelinka said that King James has not been going easy on Bronny and described an encounter he witnessed earlier in the week.
“In our pickup game yesterday, Bronny got switched onto LeBron and he took him baseline and up and under off the glass,” said Pelinka via ESPN Los Angeles. “The words exchanged afterwards were probably more challenging than anything else.”
As October inches closer, the Lakers are already hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. While this is nothing new for LeBron James, it will be his first time in this process with Bronny and it seems that he is making it a point to treat him like he would any other teammate — complete with trash-talking and all forms of showboating during practice and scrimmages.
At 39 years old, the Lakers legend doesn’t have long left in the NBA but he’s not going to slow down before it’s all said and done. In fact, now that Bronny is on board, James has a renewed sense of purpose to maximize this group and lead them to the depths of the NBA playoffs. In the meantime, they’ll be working to develop No. 9 and establish a vision for his NBA future.
Of course, being teammates with Bronny has been LeBron’s dream for a while — and after waiting 21 years, he’s not wasting any time on maximizing the experience. As a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and 20x All-Star, it may be LeBron’s last greatest feat before he retires as a basketball legend.
Coming out of USC, Bronny’s NBA potential was a controversial subject among the fans and many felt that he would have been better off waiting an extra year in college to develop his game and give himself more time to recover from the cardiac arrest that impeded his college campaign. He averaged just 4.8 points for the Trojans but it was enough to book his ticket to the league, where the Lakers were waiting with a lucrative four-year offer.
As the only father-son duo in NBA history, LeBron and his son are set to break new ground on opening night next month but it’ll only just be the start of the action. Now that he’s in the league, LeBron and coach Redick are going to be working tirelessly to keep Bronny in the league for years to come and ensure that he has a chance to play up to his ultimate potential.
Since James still has a long way to go in terms of development, he’s almost sure to get some time in the G-League and he’ll have all the tools he needs there to expand his arsenal on the court. But with his dad pushing him and challenging him every step of the way, there’s no reason to doubt that Bronny will rise to the occasion and take his place as a valuable member of the Lakers.
By going at him with full strength, LeBron has prepared Bronny all his life for this transition and the kid has yet to crack after experiencing his first offseason as a pro. Only time will tell how prepared James Jr. is for the challenges ahead but it’s fair to say that he’s had a nice head start after growing up in the shadow of a basketball legend.
