When LeBron James graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as the "Chosen One" back in 2002, it created an unfathomable set of expectations before the high school junior ever took to an NBA court. Now, 20 years later, SI is doubling down with Bronny and Bryce — LeBron's "Chosen Sons."
LeBron, of course, more than met those expectations. With four championships, four MVPs, two Olympic gold medals and a presence in most NBA all-time leaderboards, LeBron is widely recognized as one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest.
As LeBron descends on the last few chapters of his career, he's recently made waves saying he'd like to play with his eldest son, Bronny, which would mark the first father-son duo in NBA history.
“My last year will be played with my son,” James said, told The Athletic's Jason Lloyd in February. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
Bronny is a 17-year-old senior and college basketball prospect playing at Sierra Canyon High School in California. Under current NBA rules, he'll be eligible to enter the draft in 2024 (Bronny is currently No. 35 on ESPN's 2023 college basketball recruiting list).
With LeBron's latest extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron has the flexibility to become a free agent in either 2024 or 2025 thanks to a player option for the 2024-25 season. The plan for the two to play together had not been discussed before LeBron went public with his comments, the James family told SI.
“We don’t even really talk about the future too much. I put it in the air because I like to talk to the basketball gods out there and see if things can come to fruition. I’ve always set out goals in my career, talked to the basketball gods, and they’ve listened to all of them. Hopefully they can listen to this last one, too,” LeBron said in SI's cover story.
Playing with one son is crazy enough, can you imagine two?
Bryce, LeBron's younger son, is just 15 years old and won't be NBA Draft-eligible until 2027 — at which point LeBron will be 43 years old.
“I’d definitely be looking at who got first-round picks in 2024, 2025, things of that nature; 2026, ’27. I pay attention to that type of stuff,” James said.
“I feel like I could play for quite a while. So it’s all up to my body, but more importantly, my mind. If my mind can stay sharp and fresh and motivated, then the sky’s not even a limit for me. I can go beyond that. But we shall see.”
For context, LeBron is already second in all-time NBA minutes played (regular-season and playoffs combined), but in a week Tom Brady is about to suit up for a 23rd NFL season at 45, maybe LeBron can keep defying Father Time, too.
