Bronny James may be the son of LeBron — but that doesn’t mean he gets out of the normal rookie duties.
On Tuesday, hours before Bronny and LeBron are set to potentially make history as the first father-son duo to ever play together in the NBA, the elder James posted a video on his social media of a Nike commercial that shows him hazing his son, Bronny.
Don’t be late ROOK! 🤣🤴🏾👑🫡 pic.twitter.com/zxR6O8ewJp
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 22, 2024
The video shows LeBron pouring the cereal Fruity Pebbles into Bronny’s car. Then, Bronny opens his door, and Fruity Pebbles flood out of it. The camera then shoots back to LeBron who simply says, “Hey rook, better not be late.” Then, he adds, “Clean up my driveway. It’s a mess.” The video ends with Bronny saying LeBron is way too old to be doing these pranks.
The Lakers selected the younger James with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Now, the father-son duo will get to make history and will likely do it on Tuesday night, assuming Bronny checks into the game. LeBron isn’t worried about rushing the moment, though.
“Whenever it happens, it will happen,” LeBron said Tuesday morning. “If it’s tonight or if it’s down the line, whenever it happens, it will happen. But it’s been a treat, and just in preseason, the practices, just every day … just bringing him up to speed of what this professional life is all about and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
No matter when Bronny plays, LeBron is already beyond proud of his son for achieving his lifelong dream of making the NBA. Bronny spent one year at USC, and had an immediate scare when he suffered a cardiac arrest in a July 2023 practice. Now, Bronny is in the NBA, and LeBron is forever blessed to see that moment come.
“[It was] not too long ago that the scare happened,” LeBron said. “And when he’s able to grace an NBA floor, if that’s tonight or whenever the case may be, it’ll be another one of those moments just to know the adversity that he went through.
“I’ve had a couple of family members that have had heart surgeries. Some of them older, some of them younger. And to know how long it kind of takes to get back to yourself, to see him be able to play in a college Division I game the same year that he had heart surgery was, like, a ‘wow’ moment. And I knew that at that moment that there really was going to be nothing to stop him from getting to this — to anything that he wants to do. And he wanted to continue to play basketball.”
Lakers vs. Timberwolves on Tuesday, Oct. 22 tips off at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on TNT.