Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes an announcer crossed the line during his son Bronny James’ recent game over the July 4th weekend. A video from the game shows LeBron having words with the public address announcer after he made a disparaging remark about Bronny receiving a foul call. The game took place at LeBron’s old high school St. Vincent-St. Mary located in Akron, Ohio where the arena is named after the Lakers star.
“LeBron took offense to the announcer saying that he’s going to get those calls in his [LeBron’s] gym,” the YouTube broadcast announcer described the scene.
Fox Sports’ Shannon Sharpe came to LeBron’s defense calling the announcer’s comments “unnecessary.” Sharpe noted that LeBron did the right thing to put a stop to the snide comments.
“I thought it was a cheap shot by the announcer to frame it like this,” Sharpe explained on Undisputed. “LeBron was well within his right to step in and say that was unnecessary.”
Here is a look at the moment that has the internet buzzing as LeBron stood up for his son.
LeBron Is Already Planning to Team Up with Bronny in the NBA
LeBron has been open on multiple occasions about his desire to play with Bronny in the NBA. The historic event depends on LeBron still being in the NBA as well as Bronny being good enough to make it to the league. While there has been discussions about the NBA allowing high schoolers to once again turn pro, the current rules dictate that a player must be one year removed from high school to enter the draft. Bronny is part of the 2023 class which means the soonest he could join his dad in the NBA is 2024 unless the rule is changed.
“The best thing about it is the year I’ll be a free agent will be the same year my oldest son graduates high school,” LeBron noted in December, per Washington Post. “So I’ll have some options to see, for me personally, what I want to do [going] forward, being around my family, being around my son more or continue to play this game I love with great health and great spirits. We’ll see.”
Bronny Is a 4-Star Prospect in the Class of 2023
This fall, Bronny is set to enter his junior season at Sierra Canyon, a notable high school basketball powerhouse in the Los Angeles area. The son of the NBA legend is a four-star prospect who is ranked as the No. 28 player in the class of 2023, per 247Sports.
Bronny has received interest from a number of top programs including Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas. 247Sports’ Evan Daniels detailed why college coaches are intrigued by Bronny’s game.
“James, the son of LeBron, has a sturdy build, good size and average length for his size,” Daniels explained. “Athletically, James is impressive and he’s continued to become more athletic over the last year. Where he impresses the most is with his feel for the game, vision and passing. While he’s projecting as an off guard/combo for now, the passing ability makes you wonder if he could eventually slide over to full time point guard with development. James is also an impressive shooter with good shot mechanics. He’s comfortable pulling up for one and two dribble pull-ups, and has a lot of potential as a long-range shooter. It’s still early in the process, and ultimately his upside will be determined by his physical and skill growth.”