How can it not be when his lifelong basketball dream of playing together with his son, Bronny is about to come true?
“There’s a lot of excitement. It’s pure joy, to be honest, to be able to come to work every day, put in the hard work with your son every day and be able to see him continue to grow,” James said on his first public appearance with his rookie son in a Lakers uniform in the team’s media day session.
"It's a lot of excitement. Just a pure joy."
LeBron's looking forward to playing with Bronny 🤝#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/HGrjiuwi6U
Lebron and his 19-year-old son were in a good mood, posing for photographs together in their gold Lakers uniforms. Bronny’s No. 9 jersey reads “JAMES JR.” on the back, in a nod to his full name, LeBron James Jr.
LEBRON SR. x LEBRON JR. 🤯#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/80IRdRjOaa
— NBA (@NBA) September 30, 2024
His father highlights how they bring out the best of each other in practice and eventually to their teammates as the brand new season kicks off in less than a month.
“We push each other. He pushes me, I push him. We push our teammates. Just a very joyous moment, not only for myself, but for our family.”
For Bronny, putting up the work in the same gym as his soon-to-be Hall of Fame father is an experience like no other.
“I think I’m most looking forward to practice, just going head to head with each other,” Bronny said.
“That’s such a crazy feeling, to be in practice with your dad and competing at a high level. But on the other side of that, having to go against LeBron James is kind of a lot in practice every day. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it as well.”
Still getting used to this 😅
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 30, 2024
(via @mcten) pic.twitter.com/QrJqsTqzqa
LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, also set realistic goals for his son-slash-teammate heading to the season.
“Seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player, no matter if it’s here with us or if it’s down with the G League team, and him continuing to get better and better,” LeBron said.
“We want to hold him accountable. He’s going to hold us accountable, and if we all do that, we’ll all get better, because we’re all one team. We’ll continue to grow, stacking days. I know he’s going to do that, because that’s just what he’s about.”
The 39-year-old James is coming off a historic gold medal conquest with Team USA in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. He will enter his 22nd season, tying Hall of Fame inductee Vince Carter for the most in NBA history.
"I feel damn good. I had a great summer."
So I feel really good physically. Mentally, I feel really good. Really sharp. Very fresh. Looking forward to getting to work tomorrow," James added.
Anthony Davis has only positive thoughts about the arrival of Bronny, after watching his growth over the past half-decade from a teenager to an NBA prospect.
“It’s awesome. It’s historic. It’s powerful,” Davis spoke.
“Bronny’s locker is across from mine, so every time I walk in and see it, it’s still surreal for me that he’s on the same team as his dad. I can’t wait until they step on the floor and officially make history, but it’s been super-dope to watch so far.”
"It's awesome. It's historic. It's powerful."
— NBA (@NBA) September 30, 2024
Anthony Davis on witnessing LeBron and Bronny as teammates 🙇???🙌#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/CVxYwcmEjT
For a team that rode a second-half surge just to make the play-in tournament and then got bounced in the first round by the Denver Nuggets, there sure was an air of optimism in the building for the Lakers, especially with the arrival of new head coach JJ Reddick.
[ALSO READ: 'The expectation is a championship': Newly-minted head coach JJ Redick ready to help Lakers return to NBA summit]
Davis knows the key for the Lakers is staying healthy all-season long amidst the tough competition in the West.
"The West is tough. So for us, we can't get too excited for a win, too low for a loss. We have to come in and stay even-keeled. That continuity helps, building off last year with the team that we had.
“But I think if we're healthy and we're able to stay healthy throughout the entire season, we can be a top team in the West. ... If we get hit by the injury bug again, it's going to be tough."
