LeBron James plays for the Philadelphia 76ers now.
His son, Bronny James, was left behind with the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron was a free agent in the offseason, able to go wherever he pleased, and he chose Philly.
Bronny remained under contract with the Lakers, and so the only way for him to remain teammates with his father was to get traded to the 76ers, or cut and then signed.
The Lakers ended up keeping Bronny on board as their final roster keep, cutting Dalton Knecht instead — and Knecht has since signed with the New York Knicks.
That hasn’t immediately translated into playing time for Bronny, though. This is his third NBA season, and while he took a leap from year one to year two, and even while he outlasted his pops with the Lakers, he’s off to a slow start this year.
Bronny James Isn’t Playing Much
The Lakers have played two games so far. Bronny has only gotten off the bench in one of them.
He took the court in the Lakers’ season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Bronny played seven minutes against Golden State. He made the only shot he attempted, a 2-pointer. He added one turnover and two fouls, not recording any other stats.
The Lakers played again on Friday, but this time Bronny didn’t get to play a single minute.
It’s not unexpected. It’s just the reality of where Bronny is in his career. He’s a fringe roster player.
It doesn’t actually matter for Bronny whether his dad is on the Lakers or not. He’s going to have to keep proving, even in limited minutes, that he deserves to play in the NBA.
76ers vs. Lakers Schedule
The 76ers and Lakers will play twice this season.
LeBron and Bronny have been on the floor as teammates. Those two matchups would give them a chance to be on the floor as opponents.
The first meeting is on Christmas Day in Los Angeles.
The second matchup is in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 4.
While there is no guarantee that LeBron plays every game this season for the 76ers, Christmas Day seems like a shoo-in that he’ll be in action.
Bronny clearly isn’t a sure thing to get into every game, but there’d be a little extra incentive to play him when the Lakers meet the 76ers in their two matchups this season.
In the meantime, Bronny will keep trying to show the Lakers that he should be on the floor.
LeBron James Left Bronny Behind for 76ers, and Lakers’ Reserve Isn’t Playing Much