Bronny James doesn’t share everything in common with his dad, LeBron, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in their case. In a recent chat with the media, LeBron revealed that he knew when Bronny was five that he was a cut above the typical basketball athlete.

“He grabbed a rebound, drove coast-to-coast through a couple of kids and layed it up,” said James via Spectrum. “I looked over at his mom and said, ‘He special.’ She was like, ‘What? He’s 5 years old. What are you talking about?’ I’m like, ‘I’ve seen this before. I know.’”

Of course, LeBron was a child prodigy growing up. He was the best player on all his teams as a kid and made a name for himself as the ‘Chosen One’ for his play at Lower Merion High School. When he made the jump to the league (with no college experience) it didn’t take long for LeBron to work his way up the ranks.

Despite narrowly missing the All-Star team in 2004, James won Rookie of the Year for his performance with the Cavaliers, averaging 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game on 41% shooting.

James knew from 17 years old that he could potentially become the greatest player ever and from that moment he made a devoted effort to live up to that standard and work hard for a resume that can hold up against the best of the best. Today, over 20 years later, and LeBron has successfully inserted his name in the GOAT conversation as a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and a place atop the NBA’s All-Time scoring list.

This October, he’s set to make history as the first NBA athlete ever to share the court with his son and it might be the most impressive feat of his career to date. But as the 2024-25 campaign prepares to start, the focus for LeBron is not on his own career, but on ensuring the success of Bronny’s.

Fortunately, LeBron sees the same special talent in his son that he had at his age. Bronny, who is several inches shorter than his dad, has spent years of training with the King and he’s devoted countless hours to the court honing his game and improving his craft.

At just 5 years old, Bronny was showing the skills of an extraordinary talent and the Lakers are hoping to tap into that after drafting him 55th overall last summer.

In his short time at USC and during the Summer League in Las Vegas, Bronny has shown, at the very least, to be a natural leader and he’s someone who can help galvanize the team throughout the season.

Together, he and LeBron could unlock something special for the Lakers to potentially put them back in play for a top-six spot in the West. At the very least, he and LeBrom could build something for the future to ensure that both James Jr. and the Lakers are set up for success after No. 23 retires.

But LeBron has faith that Bronny will meet expectations this season and that he can develop into a valuable rotation player for the Purple and Gold.