When, as a burgeoning high school basketball talent, LeBron James graced the covers of magazines and newspapers, it was the American Dream writ large: a life moving from poverty to prosperity. Those covers contained promises LeBron has since fulfilled many times over in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles. Now the 37-year-old seemingly has it all, from NBA titles to MVP awards to movie roles, his own production company, a reported billion dollar net worth, a wife and three children.
But – speaking of those children – what does it mean for them to be the progeny of one of the most famous people in the world? Well, LeBron’s son Bronny is finding that out right now, especially when it comes to the 18-year-old’s dreams of following in his father’s footsteps as an NBA player. Bronny is the same age as his father when LeBron decided to turn pro and enter his name into the NBA draft out of high school (something no longer allowable by the league’s rules). It remains early for Bronny, of course, but the results have been mixed. And while he almost certainly will not end up one of the best players of all time like LeBron, he has already earned his fair share of accolades – something the sons of other legends like, say, Michael Jordan have been unable to achieve.
“He’d be the 2nd best shooter on the current Laker roster…. RIGHT NOW,” wrote NBA analyst and LeBron’s former teammate Richard Jefferson on Twitter in October, sharing a recent highlight reel of Bronny, in which the teenager is seen dropping 31 points in his senior season debut with prestigious Sierra Canyon high school (although, given the Lakers’ current struggles, that may not be a huge compliment).
“Love watching him play,” tweeted NBA veteran and analyst, Jamal Crawford. “Sheeesh!!!” tweeted Stephen Curry, sharing a big dunk by Bronny from this summer.
But these words of praise aren’t all that has come Bronny’s way. It’s a near impossible line to walk when you’re the child of a legend. How can one truly live up to the expectation, how can one outdo one’s own father when he’s LeBron James? In fact, LeBron, who became Bronny’s father when he was just 19, says he later regretted naming his son after himself (Bronny was born LeBron Raymone James Jr) because of the pressure it gives.
In a recent podcast, Bill Simmons and Brian Windhorst talked about how LeBron may end his NBA career. Part of that, LeBron has said, will likely (hopefully?) include teaming up with Bronny. But for Bronny, who is a 6ft 3in guard seemingly not blessed with the other-worldly talent of his father, this may be a stretch.
“What it does seem like he has a chance to do,” said Simmons, “is play in college for multiple years and then potentially make the league as somebody who could be an athletic, defensive guard who could shoot threes.”
“He plays the game such the right way,” added Windhorst – not exactly a ringing endorsement. Though, again, it’s early (perhaps way too early) to judge.
Is playing “the right way” enough? Not just to make the league but to bear the Atlas-esque burden of expectations? Maybe it will be. When Bronny was nine, then-Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta joked that he needed to offer him a scholarship. By 12, Bronny had reportedly earned other scholarship offers. He’s already signed NIL deals with Nike and Beats By Dre, and has millions of Instagram followers. Ken Griffey Jr, who know what it’s like to be the son of a sport legend, has said he’ll be at the game when Bronny and LeBron do team up for real. That’s the bonus of being LeBron’s son: attention. But attention doesn’t make a career. Talent, skill and hard work do, in the end.
Today, before his senior year is largely underway, Bronny is considered a four- (not five-) star talent, ranked in the mid-to-lower double digits in his class. And there are doubters too. Perhaps the most famous of them is LaVar Ball, who has three sons in the NBA and G-League (Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo). Ball has previously said that the specter of a superstar parent is too much for anyone to bear.
“You got LeBron – it’s going to be hard for his kids because they are going to look at them like, ‘You got to be just like your dad,’” Ball said in 2017. “And after a while, that pressure starts sitting on you like, ‘Why do I got to be just like him? What can’t I just be me?’ And then they are going to be like, ‘Aw, you’re soft. You’re not that good.’ Because the expectation is very, very high.”
In football, Arch Manning, the nephew of legendary NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, is attempting to carry on the family name. So far, Arch has committed to play quarterback at the prestigious University of Texas and he’s ranked highly as a 2023 recruit. But the pressure remains: he’s always going to be compared to his Super Bowl-winning uncles. In the NBA and college basketball, many sons have walked the path that Bronny is on (and his 15-year-old brother, Bryce, may walk a few years later, too). Steph and Seth Curry’s father Dell was a standout, though not a star. There’s Klay Thomson, Larry Nance Jr, Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr, Gary Payton II, Austin Rivers, Ron Harper Jr, Shareef O’Neal, Scotty Pippen Jr, James McAdoo, Jerami Grant, Cole Anthony and more. All who come from former NBA contributors. But the son of maybe the best ever? That’s perhaps a different story.
“I think the only pressure I really have is the pressure that I put on myself,” Cole Anthony, the Orlando Magic third-year guard, tells the Guardian. “I think I put way more pressure on myself than anyone else possibly could.”
Anthony, who is the son of former New York Knicks veteran point guard Greg Anthony, says there is no additional pressure from carrying his father’s name. Though he does make sure to pay homage to Greg by wearing his No 50 jersey (in his first two years, he’s averaged about 15 points per game). But he says having a father and mother who are familiar with the inner workings of the NBA, as well as college basketball, proved crucial during his recruitment process.
“I know a lot of kids, especially around high school age, can get overwhelmed,” says Anthony. “I give a lot of credit to my dad and mom for – they kind of handled my recruitment for me until the end of my junior year. That’s when I directly started to talk with coaches. At that point, there was more than a few schools that had stuck around.”
But more than having a famous parent, Anthony says to succeed in the NBA is all about hard work combined with an enjoyment of the game, of the job itself. Without that, no surname can help one succeed in such a demanding environment.
“I’d say the main thing is really just work your tail off and most importantly enjoy what you’re doing,” he says. “The moment you stop having fun with it, the moment you stop enjoying it, that’s when you’re done for real. Once you mentally check out of something, it’s hard to mentally check back in.”
With his endorsement deals and highlights that earn millions of views, it seems, from the outside at least, that Bronny is enjoying the fruits of his labor. He also recently appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 20 years after his father. But other children of famous sports stars like Trevor Gretzky never really attempted major athletic careers. Trevor, the son of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, is an actor. And Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, having struggled with the pressures of elite sport themselves, would rather their children steer clear of their parents’ former profession altogether.
“Tennis? I just think we’ve had enough, quite honestly,” Agassi said in 2011 (his son Jaden is, however, a promising baseball player). “It’s a weird sport. We don’t see too many second-generation players. For us, it’s about raising our children in a way we can share in their life and not always worry about their life.”
And it’s that lack of stress that Anthony sees as crucial if players like Bronny are to succeed in but, perhaps more importantly, enjoy their careers.
“Try to always find the joy in whatever you do,” he says. “Whether that’s being an athlete – but it doesn’t have to be an athlete. Just work as hard as you can and have fun.”
