LeBron James Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

LeBron James shares emotional message after watching his sons play together

Lakers superstar LeBron James has always been open about wanting to play with his oldest son, Bronny James, in the NBA, regardless of where Bronny goes. 

Bronny and his younger brother Bryce James play basketball at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. Bronny will be a senior in high school this year while Bryce will be a sophomore. According to 247 Sports, Bronny is drawing interest from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.

While LeBron waits for Bronny to reach the NBA, he crossed an item off his bucket list on Thursday when he watched Bronny and Bryce play together in a competitive game for the first time.

Bronny and Bryce played in the EYBL for Team Strive for Greatness, and Bryce impressed throughout the game, especially with his skill, pace and three-point shooting from the corners.

Will James stay in L.A.? 

James can sign a two-year, $97 million extension with the Lakers. He has until June 30, 2023, to sign the extension. If James doesn’t, he would become an unrestricted free agent next summer. 

The Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs in the 2020-21 season and missed the playoffs altogether last season. According to a report from NBA insider Marc Stein on Substack on July 29, James is “extremely happy” in Los Angeles, even with those recent struggles.

“Sources briefed on the matter stress that James is extremely happy in Los Angeles despite the Lakers’ back-to-back rocky seasons. He and his family, by all accounts, have grown increasingly entrenched in Southern California since James signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2018,” Stein wrote.

James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes over 56 games last season, but the Lakers went just 33-49 and didn’t qualify for the play-in tournament. The Lakers hope that new head coach Darvin Ham, a healthy Anthony Davis and younger role players will help James take them back to the playoffs.

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