(Left to right) Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, Bronny James and Bryce James stand during a ceremony honoring LeBron James as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Feb. 9, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Father Time is undefeated. Nothing’s gonna change that, and no one can stop it. In the end, all he does is win, win, win.
But he’s gotta play the long game against LeBron James.
James hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down at 38-years-old as his 21st NBA season gets underway. He opened with a tidy 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Tuesday’s defeat against the Denver Nuggets. It wasn’t quite the age-defying performance of last season, when he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, but it’s close enough.
He might not be the greatest of all time, but not even Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or fill-in-the-blank has been this great for this long. Size, speed and strength have been freakish superpowers for James, but his endurance and persistence are equally remarkable.
The old man in the club is now the league’s oldest player, throwing down against youngsters who grew up watching him. “He’s still out here making us look bad in practice,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves told the Associated Press. Reaves was 5-years-old during James’ rookie season.
Bronny James was a newborn baby.
LeBron has been open about wanting to play alongside his oldest son, theoretically as soon as next year. Bronny is a freshman with the USC Trojans and will be eligible for the 2024 NBA draft. The projected first-round pick underwent surgery after suffering cardiac arrest during a workout in July and still hasn’t returned to practice. But he’s on the way to full participation and showed off some moves last week during USC’s Midnight Madness.
I don’t have a son and my father died when I was four weeks old, so the relationship dynamics are foreign to me. But based on my knowledge of parenthood in general, there’s no doubt LeBron would burst with pride at sharing a court with Bronny. While numerous father-son duos have played in the league, LeBron-Bronny would be the first combo to play simultaneously.
That might not be enough to satisfy LeBron, according to a new Beats by Dre commercial titled “The King & The Viking.”
The ad paints doubters as the motivating force for LeBron and Manchester City soccer star Erling Haaland, who receive inspirational pep talks from family members. Savannah James encourages her husband to keep defying beliefs about aging, to keep proving himself incomparable again and again. Then she drops a nugget at the 1:30 mark – “Tell them you’re not done until you play with your son, and then do that, again” – the last word punctuated with a picture of Bryce James.
LeBron’s younger son, Bryce, is 16 years old with a modest three-star rating. The earliest he could turn pro is 2026. LeBron would turn 43-years-old during that season! Based on his body of work – and work on his body – it’s easy to envision him sticking around until then, even if a step slower and a leap lower.
But I have questions.
Is he willing to come off the bench, eventually, something MJ was never forced to endure? Will LeBron play for any team that signs his son(s), no matter those teams’ true feelings about the offspring? Do Bronny and Bryce really want to play NBA basketball with their dad, who might cramp their style?
If LeBron is OK possibly ending as a reserve, he can fill a valuable role for a championship contender. Combine his marketing appeal with the spectacle of a father-son pairing, and some teams will sign up regardless of the youngster’s potential.
LeBron has the option of becoming a free agent next summer, giving him the ability to sign wherever Bronny might land – if he comes out. Bronny’s health issue could cause a delay, but the Lakers are thought to be down with LeBron’s plan. I certainly can’t blame them, being in Hollywood and whatnot.
The Lakers value star players for their box-office power as much as their basketball prowess.
You have to wonder how Bronny would react to playing with LeBron (no pressure, right). It worked out well for Ken Griffey Jr., the Hall of Fame centerfielder who spent two seasons (1990 and 1991) with his dad on the Seattle Mariners, making them Major League Baseball’s first father-son teammates. While Senior was a fine player by any measure, Junior was ranked as the 13th greatest of all time.
Few if any players have surpassed LeBron on the court, and his sons have virtually no chance of doing so. But it’d be cool to see one of the boys suit up with the old man. The clock is ticking.
LeBron will wait up.
Deron Snyder, from Brooklyn, is an award-winning columnist who lives near D.C. and pledged Alpha at HU-You Know! He’s reaching high, lying low, moving on, pushing off, keeping up, and throwing down. Got it? Get more at blackdoorventures.com/deron.
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