For Bonny James, playing with LeBron was “a blessing” – and he wants to go back

Melissa Rohlin

Fox Sports NBA writer

As Bonny James Leaving the Los Angeles Lakers changing rooms after his team was eliminated from the playoffs, he smiled when he was asked what it was to play with his 40 -year -old father, who happens to be one of the biggest basketball players.

This season, Bonny has gone to run on the sidelines Cleveland riders Games in the diapers to be presented alongside his father when opening the Lakers. He went from a primary school child playing pickup matches against the face of the League to share a uniform with him. He went to publish silly videos that pretend to be a humble 19 -year -old recruit who recovers in the locker room.

When Bonny and LeBron James has become the first father-son duo in Nba History, their relationship has taken on a different dimension.

“It’s a blessing,” Bonny told Fox Sports. “Being able to learn from him, not only as a player, but as a dad. It is a different type of relationship. I try to take full advantage of it because it is something that many people cannot have. It was an incredible experience for me. And I can’t wait to learn more from him, if he is still there or not, but I am impatient of that.”

While Lebon is considering his future, with a player option of $ 52.6 million, Bonny clearly said he wanted his father to come back for another season as a teammate.

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Bonny told Fox Sports. “Whatever length he can come back, it’s always a pleasure to be with him. He is locked up. What he does for his body and preparation and things like that, I want to take full advantage of it.”

For Bonny and LeBron, making history was a deeply enriching but turbulent business.

While LeBron was sitting on the podium on Wednesday after the Lakers were abandoned the playoffs by a 103-96 Defeat against Minnesota Timberwolves In match 5 of their series in the first round, he did not hesitate when he was asked where to play alongside his son ranks among his many achievements.

“The number one, for sure,” said James, quadruple champion and quadruple MVP who is the top scorer in the league. “It’s easy. It’s not even close. To be able to play the game that I like and be able to be with my son, this year was one of the most rewarding and satisfactory trips I have ever been.”

But it was far from easy.

Less than two years ago, LeBron said that his dream was to play alongside his son to pray for his survival after Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball training at the USC before his first year.

Bronny overturned to return to the field and continued on average at 4.8 points in 25 games for the USC before being selected by the Lakers as a 55th choice in June. But since that moment, Bronny has been subjected to an unprecedented meticulous examination for an end of the end of the round at the end, with accusations of nepotism regularly launched by his detractors.

Unsurprisingly, it took a blow on his mental health.

“I was under a lot of pressure,” said Bonny. “It was waiting for me a little.”

It was difficult for LeBron to see. He came to the defense of his son, unleashing himself to Stephen A. Smith d’Espn, who made the “first catch” on January 29 and said: “I plead with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his father.”

During a match against the New York Knicks On March 6, LeBron approached Smith when he was sitting on the edge of the court and told him to leave his son alone.

A few weeks later, with six players in the middle of a brutal section for the six -game games in eight days, Bonny had her Best performance of the season Against Milwaukee, finishing with 17 points on shooting 7 per 10 (2 for 4 beyond the arc), three rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. On a game, he went to head against the double MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, crossing the ball twice and going beyond it before losing the ball out of the limits.

After this match, Smith changed his position on Bonny. “I might be wrong,” he said.

Bronny’s growth this season has been notable. There was a name in League G, with an average of 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists, pulling 44% in the field and 38% out of 3.

And even if he has collected on average only 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists for the Lakers, he grew up as a marker, his confidence soaring and he made an impression on everyone around him.

“With his physical tools and his burst and his handle, we think he is going to be a very good NBA shooter”, Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He will have a chance to really have an impact.”

As for Bonny, he dealt with criticism by focusing on improvement.

“Keep your head lowered and work,” Bronny told Fox Sports. “Working is a distraction of everything. I just love entering the gymnasium and working and talking to my coaches and watching a film. All the things that can help me improve every day. It is a distraction of all that. So, I will continue to do it and see where it takes me.

For James, it was incredible to testify.

(Photo of Al Bello / Getty Images)

LeBron used to watch the USC games of Bronny in the Lakers changing rooms. When he became the top scorer of all time in the NBA in February 2023, he brought Bronny and his younger son, Bryce, in the locker room and asked them: “Which of you will try to break my record?” And he spent this season to watch Bonny go through difficulties in the summer league in Las Vegas to really believe that he has a future in the NBA.

Thus, after the 22nd year, LeBron asked a lot of questions after the second release of the consecutive playoff series. Does he plan to come back? “I don’t have an answer to this.” Play next door Luka Donic Change your retirement plans? “It has nothing to do for someone else.” What did he think of basketball without center of the Lakers? “My ad guy ad (Anthony Davis) said what he needed (a center), and he had left the following week. So I had no comments.”

But the most thoughtful and incisive answer of James undoubtedly concerned what to play alongside his son meant for him.

Even if LeBron was anointed “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated at the age of 17 and was selected as a global choice n ° 1 in the 2003 draft, we could argue that his son had even more pressure on him this season simply because of his family name.

And LeBron could not have been more proud of how his son responded.

“Not only can he play basketball game, but he’s just a big F — King Gamin,” said James.

As for Bonny, sharing a wardrobe with her father was a trip.

LeBron has a larger aura than life. When he enters the locker room, he was silent. The cameras film it by attaching his shoes. He combined 212 million followers on social networks. He is a billionaire and one of the most influential people on the planet.

But Bonny saw LeBron in her most vulnerable moments. He watches him reach his vanilla ice cream without dairy products every night. He teases him for being “additional” after marked, with trampling, tapping her chest and screaming. He watches him kiss his wife after the games, shortly before Bonny embraces his mother.

For Bonny, LeBron is simply dad, even if he is not allowed to call him in the field.

And everything he wants is to show it, with the rest of the world, a simple thing.

“That I belong,” said Bonny to Fox Sports. “That’s all I tried to prove.”

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for Fox Sports. It previously covered the League for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Once, the information group in the Bay region and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow it on Twitter @Melissarohlin.

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