Bronny James, after keeping his options open, decided to enter the NBA Draft Combine to try his luck in the upcoming season. Unsurprisingly, all eyes were focused on the 19-year-old firstborn of LeBron James. Quite the opposite of any critic’s expectations, he had a pretty neat result. But that’s not what’s going viral right now. Excited to have a shot, Bronny looked calm and composed in his first-ever NBA interview, but his responses about his ‘game-focused mindset’ and not the ‘dad factor’ have shaken many.

When the inevitable ‘playing with LeBron’ question came up, the young guard had an interesting answer. “When I get there, I don’t think it would be just like me and my dad. I would be happy about getting to the league instead of me thinking about playing with my dad. That’s not my mindset right now at all. I’m just trying to put in the work and see where it takes me from there.” It wasn’t really a surprise that questions regarding LeBron’s dream of playing with his son would be somewhat of a major topic.

After all, it has stayed trending throughout this season. Every time the Lakers would have a terrible game, which unfortunately was a theme this time, or Bron decides to have a little fun on X with cryptic tweets, talks of his trade resurface. And when it does, it is always linked to Bronny.

The fact that his father brings the topic up every now and then doesn’t really help his case, either. But this time, he had an unexpected answer for everyone. When a reporter asked if it was his dream also to play with his father, he said, “No, never.”

Before it blows your head, here’s Bronny’s reason. “My dream has always been to put my name out, make a name for myself … I never thought about playing with my dad but of course, he’s brought it up a couple of times,” an adorable laugh followed this. “But no, I’ve never thought much about it,” he finished.

Towards the end, even LeBron and Rich Paul made it a point to make it known that their focus primarily was Bronny’s future. But not in the way everyone wants it to be.

LeBron wants Bronny James “to be his own man”, amid all his widespread dream chatter

ESPN’s Woj said that the plan of father and son playing together wasn’t a priority now. Rather, they were more or less focused on Jr.’s development as a player. Rich Paul made it clear that “an organic” inclusion of Bronny James in the Lakers is obviously possible, and LeBron would be delighted if it goes through. However, “in Rich Paul’s words, ‘LeBron wants Bronny to be his own man.'” 

One could say that it has been a lifelong dream of the Lakers superstar to take the floor with his son in tow. Ultimately, though, the father of three wants what is best for his son’s future. If that meant LeBron would have to set aside his wish, then that was what he would do.

Many have been critical of Bronny James’ skillset in recent months. However, there is a spectrum of the fanbase who also see the brighter side. As the Lakers do not have box-office draft picks, they likely wouldn’t be able to get in the biggest young talents. However, as he proved in the ongoing Draft Combine, LeBron’s son can put in a shift as well.