Bronny James, LeBron James. Getty Images (2)
LeBron James’ son Bronny James was recently asked to name his all-time favorite basketball player — and his answer was not surprising.
Bronny, 19, pondered the question for several moments, then replied with a nod to his iconic dad. “I’d probably say, like … LeBron James or something like that,” Bronny said with a smile.
Bronny picked No. 6 to wear for the University of Southern California, the same number his father wore for his past two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before switching back to No. 23 for the current season.
Bronny’s answer provoked a laugh from his teammates, who could be heard in the background of the video, shared via X (formerly Twitter) by USC Basketball.
The teenager is the eldest of LeBron’s three children. Bronny has a younger brother, Bryce, 16, and a younger sister, Zhuri, 9. LeBron and his wife, Savannah James, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on September 14.
Courtesy of USC Men’s Basketball/X (formerly known as Twitter)
One fan of the NBA legend commented on Bronny’s clip, “LBJ and Savannah — you are doing extremely well in the parent department.”
Bronny was one of the most highly recruited high school players this year, but the date of his first game remains uncertain. USC tips off the new season on November 6 in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas against Kansas State. It is not known if Bronny will be in the lineup, as he continues to recover from the cardiac arrest he suffered in July. He was diagnosed with “an anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect” and underwent surgery to correct the issue.
In August, the James family said in a statement, “We are very confident in Bronny’s full recovery and return to basketball in the very near future.”
On September 24, USC basketball coach Andy Enfield told ESPN, “Bronny’s doing very well, but we just can’t comment on anything medically. He’s going to class and doing extremely well in school, and we’re really excited for him.”
LeBron’s son did not participate in the team’s first practice on September 23, and the university has not provided further updates about his condition.
Bronny did appear at USC’s annual HoopLA event on October 1, where the players met with fans. He danced during his entrance, and the USC’s Instagram account noted that “@bronny hit the dougie during his Trojan HoopLA intro.”
LeBron was 18 when he went from playing high school basketball in Akron, Ohio, to becoming the NBA Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. He is now the all-time NBA scoring leader with over 38,000 points scored. He looks forward to another James starring in the NBA, but first, he wants to enjoy seeing his son play in college.
When Bronny committed to playing for USC in May, his father said it was “one of the best days of my life.”
“First of all, congratulations to Bronny on the decision he made. I’m super proud of him, our family is proud of him,” LeBron said in an interview with Spectrum SportsNet at the time. “For me, personally, it’s even more special to me because it’s the first time someone out of my family has gone to college. Obviously, I didn’t go to college.”
