Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Bronny James revealed what he will call his father – superstar LeBron James – on the court in the 2024-25 season.
“And should he get on the floor with the Lakers’ No. 6, a 6-foot-8 fella who happens to be the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Bronny said he has decided on how he will call his attention,” The Athletic’s Joe Vardon wrote. “As the duo has said previously, ‘dad’ while in the flow of a game probably won’t work.
“‘Probably Bron,’ Bronny said. ‘That will probably be the easiest one, I’d say.’”
There’s a chance that the father-son duo will get a chance to take the floor together on Tuesday night in the Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
During the offseason, NBA insider Zach Lowe said that the younger James is “100 percent” playing against Minnesota on opening night.
“He’s 100 percent playing in the opening game so that they can have a moment together, right?” Lowe said. “That’s gonna happen, so they pass to each other, whatever it ends up being.”
Lakers head coach J.J. Redick did play the younger James with his father during the preseason, a moment that the elder James said he would never forget.
“Not real,” the elder James said of his reaction to the moment. “Kind of a little bit used to it but it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool for both of us and especially for my family. … It’s definitely a moment that I will never forget and it’s pretty cool.”
While playing the 2024 second-round pick with the four-time NBA champion would be a cool moment, the Lakers may not have to do it on opening night. The younger James signed a standard deal with the Lakers, meaning he can spend the entire season on the NBA roster – even if it does make more sense to let him develop in the G League.
On Tuesday night, the Lakers may need to focus on winning their matchup with the Timberwolves – who made the Western Conference Finals last season – before getting the father-son duo on the floor together.
Los Angeles has narrowly made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, going through the play-in tournament to make it happen.
At some point, the father-son duo will get to play together, which will be an amazing moment in NBA history. Hopefully, the younger James develops into an important player for the Lakers so he gets many more opportunities to play alongside his dad.