LeBron and Bronny James are like a normal father and son in a lot of ways.
Bronny, who turns 20 on Sunday, doesn't want to carpool to work with his corny old dad. LeBron doesn't hesitate to go into proud dad mode and take cell phone photos of his son getting interviewed by a radio station. But at the same time, he also doesn't want to be called "dad" on the basketball court, and feel like an old-timer in front of his friends.
The one big difference, of course, is that LeBron and Bronny have both lived almost their entire lives in the glare of the national spotlight, and it's only going to get brighter this year as they set out to make history.
The Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the NBA Draft in April. So whenever he steps on the court, it will mark the first time ever that a father and son are playing on the same NBA team. In fact, it will be the first time a father and son are playing simultaneously in the NBA at all. It has happened before in the other three major North American sports, but never in the NBA.
"There's a lot of excitement for me, pure joy, to be honest, to come into work every day and see him there, see him continue to grow," LeBron said Monday during the Lakers' media day. "He's been in this realm of the game of basketball since he was born obviously. I've been playing in the NBA longer than he's been alive so he understands the nuances of it as far as just being around the game.
"But now he's a man and it's time for him to learn and get better with that," LeBron said. "But I'm super happy for him. Our family is super proud of him. If we get a couple opportunities out on the floor throughout the season, obviously that's going to be amazing. It'll be awesome. We'll wait for that moment when it happens and then go from there."
Lakers at Acrisure Arena: What to know to see LeBron James, NBA preseason games
The Lakers' regular season starts Oct. 22, and it's unclear if Bronny will earn a spot on the opening-day roster, or perhaps start his career on the Lakers' G-League Team. The first chance to see them in action together may come this weekend when the Lakers open preseason play with two games at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, in the greater Palm Springs area.
The Lakers play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. In last year's preseason opener, every player on the Lakers roster got in the game, so it's possible that LeBron and Bronny will both play in those games.
LeBron, fresh off an MVP performance and gold medal at the Paris Olympics, is about to begin his 22nd NBA season, tied with Vince Carter for the most all-time. So preseason games for him are about staying fresh and, in this year's case, getting acclimated with new coach JJ Redick. But for Bronny these games could be important proving grounds.
Let's be honest. There are a lot of NBA fans and followers out there who don't believe Bronny belongs in the NBA, a classic case of nepotism. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard averaged less than five points per game in one year at USC, but his value to a team lies more with his basketball IQ and his defensive ability.
Bronny said he hears that chatter and is grateful for this opportunity, but he understands to a lot of people he'll always be LeBron's son. So he's just trying to chart his own course, wherever that leads.
"I just try to continue to try to be myself every day, doing the things I love like I have been since being a kid and just trying to keep that routine up of being myself," Bronny said. "But I'm taking the time to tune out all the noise and tune out all the people that don't think I should be here while also getting in the gym and putting in my work. I'm just looking forward to coming in and working with my guys and competing every day. Because that's really all I've wanted to do since I started taking basketball seriously."
While LeBron and Bronny will be breaking new ground in the NBA when and if it happens, the other three major North American sports leagues -- Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NHL -- have all had fathers and sons playing together at the same time on the same team. LeBron and Bronny will become the fifth such duo.
It's no secret that playing with his son has been a dream of LeBron's for years now. And now that it's happening, it's been rejuvenating for him. He has a little extra pep in his step when he heads to the team facility for workouts this year. He said with a grin that at a fundamental level it's just nice to hang out with Bronny because as most dads of 19-year-olds know, there's not a lot of together time otherwise.
"If you have kids, especially at my age and his age, it's not really much interaction going on on a day-to-day basis," said LeBron, who turns 40 in December. "I mean he comes down. He eats. Goes to his room. Plays his video game. You know, I'm down there with my wife, we're watching a movie, he'll stop in. So it's not like 'Meet me at the table at 5 o'clock we need to discuss work tomorrow.' That doesn't happen."
Bronny said it is pretty surreal for him to go to the same NBA practices he's been hanging out at periodically since he was a toddler, but now has his own locker and jersey. He said he's gotten a kick out of going against his old man in some of the team's early workouts.
"I'm most looking forward to practice. Going head-to-head with each other. That's such a crazy feeling to be in practice with your dad. Competing at a high level," he said. "But on the other side of that, having to go against LeBron James is kind of a lot in practice every day."
The excitement isn't confined to just LeBron and Bronny. The Lakers players said they don't consider it a distraction and are in fact finding it fascinating to have a court-side seat to this magical moment.
"It's awesome, it's historic, it's powerful," said Lakers All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Anthony Davis. "Bronny's locker is across from mine, so every time I walk in, I see his name. It's still surreal to me he is on the same team as his dad and I got to be a part of it and witness each and every practice, each game, each moment that they have. I can't wait until they step on the floor together and officially make history. It's been super-dope to watch so far."
When the Lakers play in their preseason opener Friday, there will be one guy in the stands who could relate to LeBron a little bit, and that's former USC basketball coach and NBA player Henry Bibby. Bibby could imagine what it's like to be in LeBron's shoes as his son Mike was also an NBA player, though, they were never in the league together at the same time. In fact, Henry at UCLA and Mike at Arizona are one of only four father-son duos to both win an NCAA Championship.
Bibby, who lives part-time in the Coachella Valley, said he will be in attendance at Acrisure Arena on Friday and hopes that both LeBron and Bronny play.
"Every family is different, of course, but I feel like kids have to live their dreams as well, so if this is something Bronny wants to do, I leave it up to the kid to make that decision," Bibby said, then adding with a laugh. "But to be on the same team with your son? I don't know. I wouldn't want to beat up on him in practice. But seriously it's historic if it does happen and to me LeBron is the greatest ever. I've seen tons and tons of great basketball players, but to do it for so long and with the consistency is what sets him apart."
There are currently 21 players on the Lakers preseason roster. The team's official NBA roster will have 15 players on it when the season starts in three weeks.
Bronny, at best, would be on the cusp of the 15-man team, as almost all of the Lakers roster has returned from last year, as well as fellow rookie Dalton Knecht who was drafted in the first round. An option if he doesn't make the Lakers opening day roster would be for Bronny to start the season with L.A.'s G-League team, the South Bay Lakers.
New coach JJ Redick said during his preseason media session that the team has no set plans at this point as to when the historic moment might happen when LeBron and Bronny play in the same regular-season game. That is all still to be hashed out, but he did say he loves what he sees in Bronny the player so far from the Summer League (where Bronny averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game in four games) and the involuntary workouts.
"We feel fortunate to have Bronny. He's young and hungry and with a lot of inherent skillsets that can be molded into a really good NBA player," Redick said. "On top of that, he's a fantastic kid. Extremely coachable and brings the right spirit and energy every single day."
LeBron knows it's not a foregone conclusion that Bronny can play at the NBA level, but he's excited to watch the journey both while he's there and after he retires.
"In the sense of just seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player whether it's here with us or down with the G-League team and him continuing to get better and better and better and better," LeBron said. "His job is to put the work in and get better and better just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable and if we do that we all get better. If we're all getting better, then it works in everybody's favor. No substitution for hard work. I know he's going to do that because that's what he's about."
And if they do end up playing together in a game at some point, is Bronny going to call him "dad" in the heat of the moment, even against his father's wishes?
"I haven't given it any thought. Whatever comes out of my mouth when I'm trying to speak to him is what he's gotta accept," Bronny said with a laugh. "I don't know what to say about that. But I haven't addressed him in any way yet on the court so we'll see."
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at [email protected].
What: The Lakers will play two preseason games at Acrisure Arena this weekend.
When: On Friday at 7:30 p.m. the Lakers play the Minnesota Timberwolves and on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. the Lakers play the Phoenix Suns.
Tickets: Tickets are still available for both games and can be found at acrisurearena.com/events.