Lakers guard Bronny James grew up watching his father LeBron James dominate and compile a resume unlike any other. It inspired him to follow in his father’s footsteps and pursue a basketball career, which he has managed to achieve, as he now plays alongside his father. Despite the four-time champion serving as a mentor and inspiration to him, the veteran forward wasn’t his favorite athlete growing up. In fact, it wasn’t even a basketball player.
Advertisement
In an interview with Men’s Health magazine, Bronny was quizzed about his childhood. He was asked what team he rooted for and who his favorite athlete was growing up. He responded,
“My favorite team growing up was probably the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Brazil National Soccer Team. My favorite athlete was Neymar Jr. I liked him because he had a lot of swag when he played, a lot of people copied his hairstyle and stuff like that.”
Neymar is a Brazilian soccer superstar, who played for Spanish giants FC Barcelona and French champions Paris Saint-Germain during his time in Europe, before joining Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal in 2023. The mercurial winger is also his nation’s top scorer with 79 international goals.
Bronny is a massive soccer fan and grew up idolizing Neymar. He has always been open about his love for the Brazilian superstar. In an interview in July, Bronny was asked which athlete he’d most like to team up with apart from his father, and the guard answered Neymar.
Bronny James (LeBron’s son) is a huge Neymar fan 🫶🏼
Neymar’s influcncing athletes even outside of football ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7dBW71fdnp— Sh (@Sha92fc) July 14, 2024
In the interview with Men’s Health, Bronny was also asked who he was most excited to play against in the NBA. The guard answered Stephen Curry without hesitation and claimed it’d be a “cool experience” to battle the Warriors superstar. While the rookie looks forward to playing against the four-time NBA champion, he’ll likely have to wait for a while before his wish comes true.
Will Bronny get to face Steph?
Bronny has already faced Curry, but it wasn’t an official NBA game. In October, he played against the two-time MVP in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Warriors. The contest was inconsequential and the rookie only played for three minutes against the veteran.
For his wish to come true in an official game, Bronny will have to wait at least until the end of the year. The Lakers are scheduled to travel to the Chase Center to take on the Warriors in a blockbuster Christmas Day spectacle.
But with Bronny expected to split time between the G-League and the NBA soon, it’s unclear whether he’ll be part of the Lakers’ travel party that heads to San Francisco on Christmas Day. But the two teams are scheduled to face off four times between now and the end of the season so there’s plenty of time for the rookie to earn a chance to face off against Curry.
