Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Playing With Bronny Reportedly No Longer Priority For LeBron James

Originally posted on Hoops Wire | By Sam Amico | Last updated 5/1/24

For the longest time now, all we’ve heard is that LeBron James wants to play in the NBA with his son, Bronny James. LeBron even said so himself.

But he hasn’t said much about it since. Either way, the fact LeBron can opt out of his contract this summer — and has offered no clue what he will do next — has led to loads of speculation.

Namely, will LeBron opt out, then head to whichever team drafts Bronny? Will Bronny even get drafted? Will the Lakers draft Bronny in the first round to make sure his dad re-signs?

It’s a lot to take in if you’re an NBA fan.

But Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said not to read too much into it. Sources have told Hoops Wire the same. The philosophy now is not to link LeBron with Bronny too, too much.

But again, we don’t even know if Bronny will get drafted after averaging less than 5 points per game as a freshman at USC. Then again, agent Rich Paul was able to convince the Bucks to take Chris Livingston with the draft’s final pick last year — and no one thought Livingston was ready for the NBA, either.

“Rich Paul’s goal here in the pre-draft process for Bronny James is to see if there’s the right developmental system or organization, a place that can take a young player like Bronny James, who went five months without playing after his heart episode certainly limited him in his season at USC,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today. “If he does go in the draft, he very likely would spend next year in the G League.”

As for LeBron playing in the NBA with Bronny, well, that hardly seems like a certainty.

“… The idea of them playing together is not a priority; it’s not foremost, at least any longer, in LeBron James’ mind,” Wojnarowski added.

Now, will this quiet down all the scuttlebutt? Yeah, probably not. But it very well could mean LeBron is headed back to the Lakers — even if Bronny is not.