LAS VEGAS – It had been nine days since Bronny James was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and four days since he put on his Lakers No. 9 jersey for the first time at his introductory press conference and LeBron James was still at a loss for words when trying to describe what the moment means to him.
“With my son, it’s obviously it's a dream come true,” James said after the first day of Team USA training camp in Las Vegas. “For me, to see my son be able to be in the NBA alone, it's always been a dream of his. For us to be side by side, words are lost, let's be honest. The kid has worked so hard to get back to this point. Just so much has happened over the last year with him. To have this happen less than a year from his incident. To be with our friends and our family when they announced his name it was something that was super surreal. Our family still doesn't have enough words to explain the feeling that we had.”
LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard at Team USA practice in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/LTjOBpmB1u
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The historic moment of a father and son becoming teammates for the first time in NBA history was always going to be significant but it took on greater meaning given everything Bronny had to endure to get back on the court. Last July, Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during a USC practice session at Galen Center. His dream of playing in the NBA took a backseat to simply being able to walk again and live a normal life. Fast forward one year and he’s on the court playing for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League.
“He’s such a great kid and I’m looking forward to see his progression and him continuing to get better and better,” James said. “As he continues to grow as a young man, he's 19 years old, he has so much room for improvement. I'm looking forward to helping him improve, I know the coaching staff is helping him improve and everybody on the team, so it will be fun."
Bronny James made his NBA Summer League debut with the Lakers on Saturday in San Francisco as LeBron James was finishing up his first practice with Team USA in Las Vegas before heading to the Olympics in Paris later this month. Bronny James finished with 4 points on 2-for-9 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 22 minutes in a Lakers 108-94 loss to Sacramento Kings.
“Come on, man, that’s tough. That’s tough,” James said as he smiled while watching highlights of his son’s first basket with the Lakers “Get loose.”
“I just hope for he gets his feet wet in the NBA, you know the pace of the game, the speed of the game, the physicality of the game,” James said when asked about his hope for his son playing in the NBA Summer League. “But what he does in the California Classic and Summer League, it doesn’t matter if he plays well and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play well. I just want him to continue to grow [through the] practices, film sessions, his individual workouts.
“You can’t take anything stat-wise from the California Classic and Summer League and bring it once the season starts. The only thing that matters is him getting better and stacking days. He missed a big part of the season last year because of the incident less than a year ago so he’s behind as far as where he would have been if he would have played the full season. He’s getting better every day. Every day, every film session, every practice, he’s getting better and better and that’s the only thing that matters. As far as the games, just go ahead and have fun and play team basketball and do what he has always done and that’s just enjoy the game.”
LeBron James and Bronny James both signed contracts to play the next two seasons with the Lakers. LeBron agreed to a two-year, $104 million maximum deal, which includes a no-trade clause. Bronny agreed to a four-year, $7.9 million contract, which includes a partial guaranteed for the third year and a team option for the fourth year.
Bronny James, who was selected in the second round and 55th overall in the draft, has his image splashed all over signs and billboards throughout Las Vegas this week before the NBA Summer League but it will be the Lakers’ first round pick Dalton Knecht, who was projected to go as high as sixth but fell to the Lakers at 17 that will be the most intriguing plater to watch this summer. Knecht was a consensus first-team All-American last season in addition to winning the Julius Erving Award, Riley Wallace Award, SEC Player of the Year Award and perhaps most importantly being LeBron James’ favorite player that he wasn’t related to last season.
“Throughout the course of the college season, Dalton, besides Bronny, was my favorite player in college basketball,” James said. “I watched his games throughout the whole season and just liked his ability to shoot the ball, his athleticism, his height and his demeanor that he played with. I’ve always felt his game would translate to the NBA. I did not think he would fall to 17 at all so I did ‘t think we would have an opportunity to get him but I’m glad he did.”
The biggest change for the Lakers outside the addition of Knecht and James will be new head coach JJ Redick, who has never coached in the NBA but recently added two former head coaches to his staff in Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan. James seemed genuinely excited to play for Redick, who he connected with while they teamed up on a podcast last season.
“We’re excited about JJ and excited to work with JJ and to work with Coach Brooks and Coach McMillan as well,” James said. “Those are two great pieces to add to our coaching staff. I’m super excited to work with JJ and I’m looking forward to the fall.”