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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Editor-in-Chief
LAS VEGAS — LeBron James said Bronny James — his eldest son who became a teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers after the franchise drafted him with the 55th overall pick last month — is uniquely prepared to handle the scrutiny that has already begun to come his way.
“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” James told ESPN in a wide-ranging interview after USA Basketball practice Sunday in preparation for the Paris Olympics. “He doesn’t care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in (as a rookie), I wanted people to like me, and some of the things people were saying about me bothered me a little bit early in my career. … He doesn’t care at all.”
“He doesn’t care about anybody. He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s really cool. He’s the complete opposite of his dad. His dad says something (to respond to criticism). Bro doesn’t care. … Anything that’s said about him, he doesn’t care at all.”
LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer who amassed a net worth of more than $1 billion during his 21-year playing career, said his 19-year-old son hasn’t let all that success affect who he is as a person.
“Imagine being a kid, being born into a situation where your dad was super famous, super rich, and you, the kid, always had this drive to be able to accomplish things on your own,” said James, 39. “I personally don’t know if I could have done that if the roles had been reversed.”
“Growing up, I didn’t have a choice. I literally didn’t have a choice. … I had to get out of it. My mom, my family, my hometown, my city. Bronny has every choice in the world. If Bronny wanted to quit right now or never play basketball or just be a player or a leader or be nothing, he could have done it. … People don’t understand how hard it is and the commitment for him to come out of heart surgery less than a year ago, to be in the NBA, that kid, he’s special.”
“But he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care,” James continued. “It doesn’t bother him.”
The elder James is no stranger to criticism either, with the smears in recent months having targeted his alleged influence over the Lakers’ selection of his son and the hiring of his former “Mind the Game” podcast co-host JJ Redick as their next coach.
“I’m not involved in the hiring of the coach, but I’m excited about JJ,” he said. “I’m excited to work with coach (Nate) McMillan. I haven’t worked with him since the Olympic run (in 2008). This is my first time working with coach (Scott) Brooks, I’m looking forward to it. So I’m excited about that. That’s all that’s happened this summer as far as the Lakers.”
James signed a two-year extension with the Lakers over the weekend, including a player option for the second season.
He signed for less than the max for the first time since 2010, leaving nearly $3 million on the table to help LA avoid the second apron and the salary cap restrictions that brings.
Why did James accept less money after coming off a season in which he was named to the All-NBA Third Team and made the All-Star Game for the 20th consecutive season in 2023-24?
“Because we’re a couple and everybody knows relationships are about commitment,” he told ESPN. “It’s also about doing things to help both parties. We’ve been a couple for seven years…so that’s what it’s about.”
James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN that his client was willing to accept even less money in order to open the $12.9 mid-level exception that the Lakers could use to try to sign an “impact player.” Players who fit that profile included Klay Thompson, James Harden, Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan, sources told ESPN.
Los Angeles failed to land a single one.
“It takes two to tango,” LeBron told ESPN of the Lakers’ failed attempts. “I think our management, our coaching staff, tried to do the job they wanted to do or tried to bring in players and it didn’t work out. And that’s OK. That’s part of the business. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”
“So we’re not sitting here and lying or crying about it. We’re moving forward and Klay’s a great player. Obviously, DeMar’s a great player. Valanciunas was one of those guys that ended up going to Washington, he was someone that was in talks with us, but we’re moving forward and seeing how we continue to get better.”
“I’m looking forward to this fall when I can get back on the field.”
The roster he’ll be joining looks a lot like the one he had when he lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Yet LeBron has said he still believes he can win another title before his tenure in Los Angeles ends.
“Sure,” LeBron told ESPN when asked if it’s possible for the Lakers to compete again while he’s still with the franchise. “Because we’ve done it before. We’ve done it before and we still have two guys that are committed every day with me and AD. We’re committed to excellence and winning. And we feel like in any situation, any year, we can put ourselves in a position to be successful. And we’re not that far away.”
“We were a year away from the Western Conference Finals. Obviously, this year it didn’t go as well as last year. It didn’t go as well as we would have liked, but we’re not that far away.
“And there are so many teams in the league… But we don’t see that we are so far West.”
The question remains when James will retire. He will turn 40 in December. If he completes the contract he just signed, he will have spent 23 seasons in the league, breaking Vince Carter’s record of 22.
“I mean, it could be (the last contract I sign),” LeBron told ESPN. “I would never think, ‘Oh, maybe not.’ Yeah, it could be. Easily. But we’ll see what happens.”