LeBron James Prefers Son and Lakers Teammate Bronny Not to Call Him ‘Dad’ on the Court.Giang

LeBron James has an important rule for his son this NBA season.

When the 39-year-old basketball star and his son Bronny James take the court together for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, they’ll become the first father and son duo to do so in the league’s history.

Still, LeBron said the 19-year-old rookie can’t call him “dad” on the court. “[Bronny] cannot call me dad in the workplace,” LeBron said in a teaser for a new episode of Uninterrupted’s “The Shop” podcast.

The Lakers star added, “Once we leave out the private facility and the gates close, I could be dad again, in the car if we ride together, at home I could be dad.”

“We cannot be running down the court, and he’d be like, ‘Dad, push the ball up! Dad, I’m open! Dad, come on!'” LeBron said in the clip.

Instead, LeBron suggested that his son call him ‘2-3’ or ‘Bron’ when he and Bronny share the court — “Or, you know, GOAT, if he wants to, it’s up to him,” LeBron added.

The upcoming NBA season, starting on Oct. 22, will be LeBron’s 21st in the league.

The father of three has long said he wants to share the court with his son before retiring from basketball. In an interview with Craig Melvin that aired Monday, July 8 on Today, LeBron said Bronny signing with the Lakers is “the greatest accomplishment that I’ve ever had.”

LeBron praised his son for having “done it all as an individual,” and added, “there’s no greater accomplishment that will be able to overtake me being on the same floor as my son.”

“It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened,” LeBron concluded.

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Bronny joins his father on the Lakers roster one year after the rookie suffered cardiac arrest in July 2023 during a practice at the University of Southern California. In his first and only season with the USC Trojans, Bronny missed the first eight games of the NCAA season and was diagnosed with “an anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect” by doctors.

In addition to Bronny, LeBron shares Zhuri Nova, 9, and Bryce Maximus, 17, with his wife Savannah James.