LeBron James might have been bummed out Wednesday night about his 22nd NBA season coming to an abrupt end with a loss to the Timberwolves but he took some time after the loss to talk about something that was really special for him—playing alongside his son, Bronny James, this year.
LeBron and Bronny made history on opening night when they became the first father-son duo to play in a NBA game together. While Bronny struggled early on in his rookie year, he showed signs of improvement down the stretch and also excelled on the franchise’s G-League team.
LeBron had this to say when asked how he’d rank playing with Bronny:
“Number one for sure. That’s easy,” he said after Wednesday night’s loss. “That’s not even close. To be able to play the game that I love and to be able to be along my son this whole year has been one of the most gratifying, satisfying journeys I’ve ever been on.”
LeBron added:
“Just to see his growth from the moment he was drafted when we were all in New York at the draft party to seeing him in summer league struggle early on … and pick it up towards the end. I just saw he has a bright future because not only can he play the game of basketball, he’s just a great [expletive] kid. And you can ask anybody, any one of his teammates, any one of the coaches. Just a joy to be around, and I have to say that I have a lot to do with that.’’
Bronny played in 27 games in his rookie season and averaged 2.7 points.
While the Lakers fell well short of a championship, it was a season the James family will never forget.