LeBron James explains how Bronny James is the 'complete opposite' of him

"(Bronny) doesn't care. I actually cared a little bit. When I came in (as a rookie), I wanted people to like me, and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. I let it get to me," LeBron said. "Bronny plays, he works his tail off (and) when he's done, he goes home and plays video games. He does not care about nobody. He doesn't even listen to that stuff. He's like the complete opposite of his dad. His dad will say something."

As expected, the Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th overall pick during the 2024 NBA Draft in late June.

LeBron then agreed to a new two-year, $104M maximum contract with Los Angeles on July 3, getting him that much closer to fulfilling his goal of sharing the floor with Bronny.

Analysts and fans alike have put Bronny under the microscope perhaps more than any other incoming rookie, not only because of who his father is, but how little the 19-year-old played in college.

Bronny arrived at USC last summer ranked 20th in the 2023 ESPN 100 rankings and as the sixth-rated point guard before suffering a cardiac arrest during a July practice. 

He made his way back onto the court in late 2023 and was medically cleared in November, but he averaged only 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 19.3 minutes per game across 25 contests (six starts) while recording a .366/.267/.676 shooting line.

"Just imagine if you were a kid, you were born into a situation where your dad was super famous, super wealthy and you the kid still had the drive to want to be able to accomplish things for yourself," LeBron said. "I personally don't know if I would've been able to do that if the roles were reversed."