LeBron James and his son Bronny James are getting ready to play their first NBA season as teammates, and fans got their first look at the duo together in Lakers uniforms on Monday during the team’s media day. LeBron and Bronny did a few interviews together as well, and the father-son duo gave their takes on a notable moment from a recent practice.
Last week, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said LeBron took Bronny to the baseline for a reverse layup. Even better, LeBron showed he isn’t taking it easy on his son and followed that move with a little bit of trash talking. The four-time NBA champion did not deny this, and instead doubled-down on Instagram by saying Bronny showed “great defense,” but he was going up against “better offense.”
They were asked about that moment on Monday, and Bronny took this opportunity to share his side of the story.
“Alright, in all seriousness, I looked at the film and he did step out of bounds,” Bronny said. “But I’m not gonna go there. I’m not gonna go there right now.”
LeBron wasn’t going to let his new teammate get away with such a claim.
“What do you mean you’re not going to go there right now? You just went there!” he replied.
Bronny insisted his dad did step out of bounds, and the veteran replied by telling him they don’t even have a camera angle of the baseline to prove that.
“Man, you’re a rookie anyway,” LeBron said.
LeBron then brought up the stop he got on Bronny when the rookie dribbled out of bounds. Bronny said his father had actually committed a foul on that specific play because he “slapped my whole arm.” He then joked that of course a ref was not going to call it.
LeBron and Bronny are about to become the first ever father and son to play in the NBA at the same time. James said he didn’t want to take this moment for granted and shared that playing alongside Bronny gave him “a lot of life.”
Bronny will not be calling LeBron “dad” during games, and said he will most likely call him “Bron.” He also shared they will “absolutely not” commute to practice together so they can get some time away from each other. However, he is definitely excited about sharing this experience with his father.
“I think I’m most looking forward to practice, going head-to-head with each other,” Bronny said. “I feel like that is such a crazy feeling, being in practice with your dad and competing at a high level. On the other side of that, having to go against LeBron James is kinda a lot in practice every day, but I’m looking forward to it as well.”
