LeBron James Reacts to Making Debut With Son Bronny James as Lakers Teammates

LeBron James has no game face when it comes to son Bronny James joining him on the Lakers. 

NBA fans got a peek of the franchises’ first father-son teammates during the Los Angeles Lakers media day on Sept. 30. LeBron, 39, and his 19-year-old son, Bronny—whose real name is LeBron James Jr.—suited up in their yellow home jerseys for pictures.

And LeBron couldn’t help but gush over the moment.

“Pure joy man,” the basketball star shared when asked how he feels about playing with his oldest son, as seen on social media. “I don’t have any words. I can speak about me when it comes to him. I’m just a loss for words.”

He continued, “Just super proud of him to get to this point. He’s a man, and he’s ready to go.”

One of the hottest topics of discussion was what will Bronny call his father on the court—as “Dad” is out of the question.

“I haven’t gotten there yet,” Bronny said about his teammate’s name. “It’s probably going to be ‘Bron.’ Bron would be the easiest.”

LeBron, who is going into his 21st season, was seen donning his legendary no. 23 on his back. As for Bronny, he will make his NBA debut wearing no. 9—with “James Jr.” across his back.

The father-son duo also posed for official team portraits standing back-to-back, comma with LeBron flashing a bright smile as he and Bronny posed for the photos together.

LeBron’s wife  Savannah James—who in addition to Bronny, is mom to Bryce James, 17, and Zhuri James, 9—shared a sweet moment on her IG stories reacting to her guys’ media day writing, “WOW!!! No words to express this gratitude.” 

Bronny’s NBA debut comes over a year after he was hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest.

In July 2023, he experienced a medical emergency during basketball practice at the University of Southern California, leading him to be transported to the ICU. Bronny was released later that month and played a successful season with the Trojans before officially becoming a Laker in June.