LeBron James’ season ended painfully in more ways than one last Wednesday, suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in the Los Angeles Lakers’ season-ending Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He should have plenty of time to recover as the long offseason gets underway, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be just lying in bed, as he revealed on the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast.
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LeBron has three kids. Bronny, his oldest, is a fellow Laker, having just completed his rookie year with the team after being taken in the second round of last year’s draft. Bryce is in the middle, and he’s a baller as well. He’ll be attending the University of Arizona in the fall on a full basketball scholarship.
Then there’s Zhuri, LeBron’s only daughter. Zhuri is only 10, but she’s already proven that she inherited her dad’s athletic genes. Her travel volleyball team has a busy schedule this summer, and LeBron plans on being there to support her.
“I’ll be in a lot of gyms this summer as she’s with her travel league team out in California,” he told cohost Steve Nash. “They go all over — they’ve been to Reno, Nevada, they’re going to Las Vegas, they play all over California. I’ll spend a lot of time with her and then take some vacation time with the family, some of the time you lose when you’re in the eight-, nine-month season.”
LeBron has a player option on his contract that he’ll need to decide on by June 29, but he was cryptic about his future playing plans, only saying that sometime this summer, he and his family “will see what the next journey looks like.”
As LeBron’s playing days near an end, Zhuri’s are just beginning
Zhuri may only be 10 years old, but she seems to be pretty serious about her budding volleyball career. Her mom, Savannah James, revealed in an Instagram post months ago that they were up early for a tournament that started at 6 a.m.
WNBA legend Candace Parker, herself a volleyball mom, replied to Savannah’s post with her support and revealed that early starts are the norm. “It’s not for the weak,” she said with three laughing emojis.
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Like her dad did when he played for the Miami Heat, Zhuri wears No. 6 on her jersey. She also has the unwavering support of her parents, especially Savannah, who was at her games supporting her even as LeBron was gearing up to take on the Wolves in the playoffs.
LeBron may be grappling with his own basketball mortality, but the shift into a post-playing life might not be so hard, since he can live vicariously through his three kids. Zhuri had better get used to seeing both mom and dad in the stands.
