What will happen to Bronny if LeBron leaves the Lakers in 2026?

Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James is under contract with the team through the coming 2025-26 season, but his future in Los Angeles is uncertain after that. James is on track to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, and it’s very possible that he will leave the Lakers to sign with another team.

If James opts to sign with a rival squad in the 2026 offseason, what will happen to his son Bronny? The Lakers drafted the younger James with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he’s heading into his sophomore season in the pros.

Let’s look at several possibilities regarding what the younger James’ future will look like should the 2025-26 campaign be his father’s last in a Lakers uniform.

Option No. 1: Bronny plays out his contract with the Lakers

In this scenario, the younger James sticks around with the Lakers after his dad stops playing for the iconic franchise. The 20-year-old would play out the remainder of his current contract in Los Angeles, meaning he wouldn’t hit free agency very soon.

The younger James is under contract for the foreseeable future and doesn’t have a club option attached to his deal until the 2027-28 campaign. If the Lakers exercised that club option, he’d be scheduled to hit free agency in 2028. If he played out his deal and then the Lakers declined that option, he’d hit free agency in 2027.

He would then get to choose his next stop as an unrestricted free agent, but he would also have to be away from his father for some time in this scenario, and nobody knows if the elder James will still be kicking around in the NBA by the time his son’s contract is up.

Option No. 2: Bronny gets traded to wherever LeBron lands in 2026

The elder James signing elsewhere next summer wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him being teammates with his son in the 2026-27 campaign. In this possibility, the Lakers trade the younger James to whatever team his father signs with, allowing them to continue playing as a father-son duo.

One obvious question that arises in a scenario like this (and any others that involve the younger James leaving the Lakers to follow his father) is whether it would be worthwhile for him to uproot his foundation with L.A. just to play another year or so with his dad before he retires. We all know that the elder James isn’t going to keep playing forever.

Option No. 3: The Lakers waive Bronny in 2026 to allow him to follow LeBron

The Lakers also part with the younger James in the summer of 2026 in this scenario but do it in a different fashion, waiving him so that he can follow his dad and sign with whoever he lands with.

This would probably be the ideal possibility if the younger James wants to play with the elder James on a different team in the 2026-27 campaign, as nobody would have to worry about putting a trade together to make it happen, unlike in the other scenario. It should also be noted that as of now, the younger James’ contract for the 2026-27 season is only partially guaranteed.

However, one obstacle that could prevent this scenario from happening is if the younger James proves himself as a valuable piece that L.A. doesn’t want to waive for no reason. A strong sophomore season from him could lead to the Lakers feeling like he brings too much to the table for them to lose him for nothing.

Option No. 4: Bronny becomes a long-term piece with the Lakers

Last but not least is a scenario that is probably the best outcome for the younger James’ NBA career. In this scenario, the younger James stakes his claim as an important long-term piece while playing for the Lakers in the 2025-26 campaign and is seen as a part of their future.

This would prevent the Lakers from trading or waiving him in the summer of 2026 despite his father’s departure, with the team instead keeping him around for a good while and even giving him a new contract down the line.

Prediction: The LeBron-Bronny duo lives on

The prediction here is that the younger James’ future will play out similarly to possibility No. 3. Call it bold, but we’ll say that he gets waived by the Lakers next summer and joins the Dallas Mavericks along with the elder James. The crystal ball also says the younger James will still be a fringe NBA player at that point and won’t be on the heels of a breakout sophomore season.