LeBron James spoke on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. When talking about Bronny James‘ recent jump to the NBA, he responded to critics by saying that Bronny really doesn’t need to play in the NBA. James added that he would support him in whatever endeavor he wanted to undertake, but because his son wanted to make it in the NBA, he was very proud of him.
“Bronny doesn’t have to play basketball at all. It’s not like he needs the money. He can do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to be the CEO of my company, he can be that, I’ll start teaching him to be that. But he’s like ‘This is my career, this is my goal, and this is my aspiration. And I want to play ball’. I love that kid, he’s awesome.”
As James mentioned, Bronny James is certainly not hurting for cash. While he has a guaranteed $7.98 million contract till 2028, he has several off-court income streams that make him quite a wealthy man. He entered the collegiate game with an NIL value of $5.9 million.
Of course, his cardiac arrest and subsequently mediocre performances brought his NIL value down to about $3.2 million by the time he entered the NBA. But his deals with Beats by Dre, Nike, and PSD Underwear have made sure that he is well compensated for his name, image, and likeness.
On top of that, LeBron James is without a doubt one of the wealthiest NBA players of all time, with a humongous net worth of $1.2 billion, along with a $48 million salary this season alone. So Bronny’s motivations are clearly not of a fiscal nature, as he is well-taken care of from a financial standpoint.
The former USC star is clearly passionate about the sport of basketball and wants to find success in the league.
After a shaky start to life in the NBA, being drafted 54th in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers, where he struggled greatly in his first few games, Bronny has settled into a comfortable groove in the G-League.
For the first two regular season games, Bronny is averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 steals, 2.0 steals, and 0.0 blocks per game, while shooting 41.9% from the field, 46.2% from the three-point line, and 75.0% from the free-throw line.
He hasn’t played many G-League games in the last few weeks, presumably due to the safety concerns when the South Bay Lakers are on the road. But he has been doing well in the G-League.
LeBron James Heaps Praise On Bronny
In the same interview, LeBron James had some incredibly kind words for Bronny and a message for his critics. He praised his son for being a focused, yet simple and chill kid who just does things that he likes and doesn’t cause trouble. LeBron also shouted out Bronny for being a good big brother to his two siblings, Bryce and Zhuri.
“If you ever meet Bronny, then you will realize, ‘I’m such an idiot to look down on him or not want him to do great’. He is the most chill, easy, fun kid in the world. He goes to work. He goes home. He takes care of his body. He plays his video games. He reads a little bit. And then he comes back and does the same thing. He’s like the best big brother that his little brother and little sister could ever have.”
It was a really refreshing interview for LeBron James, where he discussed a host of different topics. On the subject of family, James told the story of how his mother convinced him to turn down a $10 million deal from Reebok early in his career. Clearly, Ms. Gloria had an eye for business and knew just how valuable her son was.
He also finally acknowledged the legendary post made by a hater when he turned 30 years old. Along with that, he showed his support for the Cleveland Cavaliers, his former and hometown franchise.
But perhaps the best story to come out of this interview was the details behind his now-fabled pick-up game against Michael Jordan. We urge you to check out the interview for yourself, but if you don’t have the time, you can just read the quotes compiled by our wonderful team of writers by clicking on the links attached above.
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