LeBron James and his son Bronny James are now officially teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. While this is a massive achievement, most of the NBA community has seen this coming for the last six months or so. Udonis Haslem said as much during a recent appearance on The OGs, where he used a rather amusing analogy to explain just how predictable this was.
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During the episode, Haslem’s co-host was in the process of asking him a question about LeBron and Bronny being together on the Lakers. However, it wasn’t long before the Heat legend cut him off before he exclaimed how easy it was to see coming, using his Tom Ford sunglasses as a prop for his analogy.
“Man, I seen that sh*t coming with these Tom Fords on! I ain’t have to be a rocket scientist!”
The panelists immediately erupted in a fit of laughter over Haslem’s flippant comments. Eventually, Mike Bibby, who was a guest on the show, was asked to give his thoughts on this situation. Obliging, he talked about how James Senior will only want the best for James Junior.
However, in the end, the Sacramento Kings legend refused to make any ironclad statements on how this will go, instead choosing to say it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
“It be interesting to see. Like, you always want to see your kids do better than you, no matter how it is, you know? I always want my son to be better than [me]. You always got to do that. And I mean it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. You know, Rich Paul saying he doesn’t want him in the G League and stuff like that…”
Rich Paul, James’ longtime friend and agent, has naturally become Bronny’s agent too.
Unfortunately for Bronny, his journey in the NBA will likely be very different from that of most people drafted into the league. His incredibly high-profile situation has too many variables for anybody to predict how things will turn out, something Bibby rightly referenced in his answer.
Bronny, no doubt, is already aware of this. Judging from the way he answered media questions after his unveiling at the Lakers training center, all he wants to do is focus on basketball, and not fuel the media fire around the whole situation.
Bronny James never gave much thought to playing with his father
For a long time now, LeBron James has been harping on and on about wanting to play on the same court as his son in the NBA. And given how close the James family has shown itself to be, many expected Bronny to feel the same way. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Per CBS Sports, James Jr. was only thinking about making it to the NBA. So, he had never given much thought at all to playing alongside his father. On the matter, he said,
“I never really had a thought of, you know, me going and playing with my dad. But, that’s always there to, you know, take part of. But, it wasn’t a main focus of mine”
While James didn’t seem unhappy with being on the same team as his father, he almost carried a lukewarm expression as he answered the question.
The 19-year-old has been looking to escape his father’s shadow to make a name for himself all his life. So, it’s hard to blame him for not being thrilled at being paired up with him on the Lakers. Fortunately, however, all is not lost.
Bronny could still make a name for himself while still being on the same team as his father. It may take him some time, but if he can become a good ‘three-and-d’ player as he has been touted to be by many scouts, he will be respected, not as LeBron James’s son, but as Bronny James.
