LAS VEGAS — It says a lot about LeBron James’ commitment to USA Basketball and winning gold at the Paris Olympics that at the same time, his son Bronny was making his Lakers summer debut in San Francisco, LeBron was walking into the gym in Las Vegas for the first USA practice.
That doesn’t mean the proud parent wasn’t watching.
"C'mon man that's tough"
— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2024
LeBron watching Bronny's first points🙌 https://t.co/GZSVMh8sg6 pic.twitter.com/pQvRGD2nyo
Bronny looked like what he is — a rookie needing development — in his debut, shooting 2-of-9 overall, 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and finishing with four points, plus a couple of rebounds and assists each. That’s to be expected and part of the process, something his father understands.
“Just get his feet wet with the NBA — the pace of the game, the speed of the game, the physicality of the game,” LeBron said of the expectations of his son both in these games and in Las Vegas at Summer League. “But what he does and the California Classic and Summer League, it doesn’t matter if he plays well and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play well, I just want him to continue to grow. Practices, film sessions, his individual workouts.
“You can’t take anything stat-wise from California Classic and Summer League and bring it to once the season starts. The only thing that matters is him getting better and stacking days.”
Bronny had a couple of moments in what was a learning experience.
Bronny James finds separation for the midrange J!
— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2024
🏀 Lakers-Kings
☀️ California Classic on ESPN pic.twitter.com/q0ZmUQcXlp
Bronny’s father couldn’t be more proud.
“With my son, obviously it’s a dream come true for me,” LeBron said. “To see my son to be able to be in the NBA alone. I mean, it’s always been a dream of his. And for us to be there side by side... words are lost.
“I don’t know, I mean the kid has worked so hard to get back to this point. So much has happened over the last year with him to have this happen less than a year from his incident [a cardiac arrest during a summer practice].
“To be with our friends and our family when they announced his name [at the draft]. It was something that was super surreal and it’s still kind of surreal to us. Our family still don’t even have enough words to explain the feeling that we have.”
