With over two decades of NBA experience under his belt, LeBron James certainly knows what it takes to last in the league. With his elder son Bronny a pro and his younger son Bryce not far from entering the league himself, LeBron has made sure to give his boys consistent motivation and keep them focused. On a recent episode of Mind the Game, the four-time champion spoke about a group chat he has with his sons where he’ll often send them messages to help them lock in.
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James pulled up a motivational text he sent on June 18, 2024, soon after the Boston Celtics claimed their 18th championship. Winning titles is often the ultimate motivation for many professional athletes, so LeBron used the opportunity to shine a light on a player who went from unheralded to hanging banners.
With Bronny’s NBA Draft just over a week later, LeBron’s message appeared to be directed at him. It wasn’t known that Bronny would slip to the 55th pick for LeBron’s Lakers at the time. But the four-time MVP clearly wanted his sons to know that they didn’t have to follow directly in his footsteps to achieve greatness.
“Unranked in high school, zero D1 scholarship offers, played three years of Division II basketball at UCCS, transferred to Colorado, and now is an NBA Champion on one of the best teams in the NBA,” James read the text. “That guy is Derrick White. Hell of a player.”
The future Hall of Famer was doing more than simply listing the Celtics guard’s accomplishments; he was teaching his sons a life lesson.
“And my message was to them, ‘Everybody’s road to success was different. So stay locked-in and patient.’ That was my message to my boys last year,” LeBron continued. White is just one of the myriad of talented NBA stars who took time to find their footing in the league. Not everyone can dominate from the jump like LeBron, after all.
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LeBron’s greatness put an unfair amount of pressure on Bronny, who nearly went undrafted after leaving college prematurely. He didn’t play much of a role for the Lakers in his rookie campaign, but he dominated for the franchise’s G League squad, inspiring some optimism that Bronny can be a contributor at the NBA level in the coming years.
Bryce, meanwhile, is taking his basketball career a different route. Rather than sticking in his home state of California, Bryce is taking his talents to the University of Arizona next season. Depending how his freshman season turns out, Bryce could make the same decision as his older brother and leave for the draft after just one year.
After seeing how Bronny was treated by the media, though, Bryce may reconsider an early departure and develop his game more at the collegiate level. Neither of the 21-time All-Star’s sons boast the can’t-miss talent that he possessed as an 18-year-old, but they’re both finding a way to carve their own paths. To LeBron, that’s what matters most.
