What did LeBron James say about Bronny James’ debut for the Lakers?

On Saturday, Bronny James made his first appearance for the Los Angeles Lakers after being picked 55th in the 2024 NBA Draft by the California franchise. The 19-year-old featured in the California Classic Summer League against the Sacramento Kings, hours before the Lakers officially confirmed LeBron had signed a new contract to remain with the team (which we already knew would happen).

What are the terms of LeBron James’ new Lakers contract?

Formally, the terms of James Sr’s latest deal “were not released,” although it was reported last week by The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania that the 39-year-old had agreed to a two-year, $104-million maximum deal, which includes a player option next summer and a no-trade clause.

ESPN, however, have now claimed LeBron has signed a below-max $101.35 million two-year extension.

Either way, LeBron and Bronny will now become the first father-son duo to appear together in the NBA in the 2024/25 season, which gets underway in October.

Bronny James’ stats on Lakers debut

The Lakers’ preparations for the new season got underway on Saturday with their first game in the California Classic, in which a number of the franchise’s younger players are taking part, Bronny included. The point guard played for 21:43 minutes against the Kings, registering four points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal. He struggled with three-pointers, missing all three attempted.

Following his son’s debut, LeBron reflected on the simple fact that Bronny had even made it this far after suffering a cardiac arrest ahead of his freshman year at USC less than 12 months ago, which kept him out of action for around five months and threw his future prospects up in the air.

LeBron James on Bronny joining the Lakers and summer league debut

“For me, to be able to see my son make it in the NBA alone is great,” said James Sr. “It’s always been a dream of his. For us to be side-by-side, I’m proud of him. Words are lost. I mean, the kid has worked so hard to get back to this point, so much has happened over the last year with him.

“To have this happen less than a year after the incident, to be with our friends and family when they announced his name … our family still don’t even have enough words to explain the feeling that we had. Such a great kid and I’m looking forward to seeing the progression for him to get better. He has so much room for improvement, the speed of the game, physicality of the game.”

Although Bronny didn’t post especially impressive numbers on his debut against the Kings, LeBron insisted nobody should be reading too much into his son’s first few Lakers performances, especially given his health and fitness issues over the last year.

“Doesn’t matter if he plays well and doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play well. I just want him to continue to grow in practices, in film sessions, individual workouts. You can’t take anything stat-wise from the California Classic or (Vegas) Summer League. Only thing that matters is him getting better. He’s behind because he hasn’t really played a full season. Getting better is the only thing that matters.”

When will Bronny and LeBron James play together for the first time?

LeBron’s immediate focus is representing the United States at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which begin on Friday July 26. Once the event is over on Sunday August 11, we will have a better idea of when the James duo could play together for the Lakers for the first time.