LeBron’s Son Could Influence NBA Legends Career Decision

And, while his time playing in the NBA is drawing to a close, James has always held out hope that he’d one day be able to play alongside his son Bronny as a professional before bowing out. News that Bronny will be in the NBA within the next two years has begun talk of King James’ future and what options lay in front of him to make his dream come true.

James, 39, penned a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s currently in the first year of that agreement—an agreement he will undoubtedly be keen to honour, even though this term, the Lakers are well off the pace in the Western Conference and aren’t likely to achieve success according to basketball betting markets. However, son Bronny’s decision to preserve his college eligibility while declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft has somewhat thrown the cat amongst the pigeons.

Bronny, 19, is now active in the NCAA Transfer Portal but plans to visit some NBA teams to get a feel for what’s actually out there before deciding whether to step into the professional game this year or, as expected, enter the 2025 NBA Draft with the year between now and then spent in college. Of course, doing the latter would make life a lot easier for James Sr because he would be at the end of his agreement with the Lakers and a free agent himself.

The ideal scenario would be for Bronny to exercise his eligibility to stay in college for another year and then enter the 2025 NBA Draft. Once drafted, the team who picks Bronny up would then pick up his father, LeBron, as an unrestricted free agent, allowing the father and son duo to play together professionally in the NBA before the latter bows out after a glittering career, and the former goes on to be a mega star in his own right.

However, things don’t always work out how you want them to, and the young guard could decide to step into the NBA in the coming months while LeBron is still under contract with the Lakers, a franchise he is content with. If the Lakers acquired Bronny, matters would be a whole lot easier. But if they didn’t, it would mean King James has a big decision to make about his own career imminently and one that he may not be keen on making, even if it’s to pursue arguably the last achievement left in his iconic career.

To realise his dream of playing with Bronny, if his son is plying his trade elsewhere, LeBron may have to make a quick exit from the Los Angeles Lakers, even though he’s reportedly happy where he is and would still have a year to run on his deal. Or, he could stay put for the 2024/25 campaign and then move, but know in 2025/26, he’d be playing through the age of forty-one. It’s a tough call and one that Bronny will influence in a significant way.