Unlike their father LeBron James, Bronny and Bryce James have been close to professional basketball their entire lives. As the sons of one of the NBA’s greatest, they have been essentially been given a personal crash course on how to play basketball. Since they were not allowed to pursue football, LeBron’s sons were laser-focused on their future as basketball players from the beginning. LBJ grew up differently, though. and engaged in a bevy of different sports as a kid.
Advertisement
When talking about the lack of children who play on outdoor basketball courts today, LeBron shared that Bronny and Bryce rarely got together with friends to hoop outside. Most of their basketball experience took place indoors under the supervision of a coach.
Instead of having a more organic approach, every move the James boys have made on the court has been under a microscope. That’s a far cry from the environment their father grew up in.
Akron, Ohio, while also not being the safest place, doesn’t boast the year-long summer seasons that Florida and California do. In LeBron’s mind, having all year to spend time outside would be a good thing. But these days, most ranked kids are doing the majority of their work in a gym, including his sons.
“For the majority of the time, my kids, growing up, lived in South Florida and lived in Southern California,” James said on Mind the Game.
“So it was no reason for them not to be outside. You know, I get it if they, the majority of the time, grew up in Northeast Ohio, where you have four seasons and it’s hard to get on an outdoor court where there’s six inches of snow or it’s raining crazy,” he added.
LeBron knows that there’s a growing issue with children latching on to a single sport and playing only that sport for their entire childhood and beyond. He also knows that isn’t a good way to nurture a love of sports. A multi-sport athlete himself, the four-time MVP believes all children should have the opportunity to explore their athletic interests.
“I think not allowing kids to just go out and explore all sports. You know, basketball, football, lacrosse, track and field. Like, me and my guys, we ran track and field as well when we were like super-duper young,” the 40-year-old continued. “We didn’t just cap it at one thing … And I think a lot of kids, they burn the hell out.”
Both LeBron and Steve Nash agree that, if kids stick to only one sport their entire upbringing, they’re bound to burn out by their early 20s, if not before.
While there was certainly an era of specialized sports, at this point, it seems mostly everyone can recognize the importance of being a multi-sport athlete and, maybe more importantly, just being a kid every once in a while.
