Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

‘Worried’ LeBron James reached out to NBA veteran to coach sons Bronny and Bryce James

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Rishabh Bhatnagar | Last updated 2/5/24

Washington Wizards’ former superstar Gilbert Arenas, apart from having a popular podcast, has also taken up multiple college coaching roles in recent years. So much so that even LeBron James, widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, also wanted his help while training his two sons, both expected to reach the NBA in due time.

LeBron’s two talented sons, Bronny James, and Bryce James , led to the Lakers star reaching out to Arenas on social media because he wanted him to coach them.

During a recent episode of Podcast P, Arenas revealed exactly how the discussion between the two went down:

He [LeBron] hit me in the DM's," Arenas stated. "Said, ‘Yo, my son gonna be working out with Dribble2Much, can you put eyes on him?' He said, 'I’m a little worried. He's in 8th grade, getting ready to go 9th.’ I said, 'I bet.'

Arenas continued:

Went there, watching him. I hit him back and I said, ‘Yo, y'all probably got the same speed, probably got the same passing skills, IQ damn near the same. At this age, he probably jumps a little bit higher, probably a little bit stronger. He can definitely shoot better and dribble better than you.’ And he was like, 'Yeah, that's right.' So he was like, 'Yo, can you train him?'

This led to Arenas taking up the offer, leading to him realizing the potential that James’ genes gave his sons. Both Bronny and Bryce are considered well on their way to the NBA.

Gilbert Arenas was impressed with LeBron’s 2 sons

Arenas also shared insights on the development of the James brothers in a recent edition of his podcast, Gil’s Arena. According to Arenas, LeBron sought his expertise and evaluation when Bronny, then in the eighth grade, was working out at Dribble2Much. Concerned about his son’s progress, LeBron contacted Arenas to assess Bronny’s skills and offer guidance.

I was like, 'Hey man, stand up for yourself, man.' And then the look he gave me," Arenas continued. "Got the ball, came down, Euro'd with the palm, just palmed it like the Kawhi palm. Boom boom. And went to the rim. I'm like, 'Oh, sh*t.' And then ran the crew, 5-0'd all of them. Then I called Bron [and said] ‘Yeah, you ain’t got to worry.’

However, he had a unique perspective on Bronny, James’ eldest son. Arenas claimed that Bronny could be better than he had been, until now:

Very intelligent too. Like we'll do pick and roll splits. And I'm like I'm gonna just mix it up. No matter what we did, he read it perfect every single time. He probably might be the smartest one out of them."

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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