Imagine being the son of the best basketball player in the world, one who was deemed “The Chosen One” at the age of 16 and is often regarded by some as the greatest player of all time.
Imagine being the offspring of a baller, who has accomplished the biggest basketball feat, and more. With an extensive resume, which includes four NBA MVP awards, three NBA Finals MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title.
Imagine being the namesake of a baller who has been dominating the National Basketball Association since 2003, and has accumulated a host of haters in the process.
Amid all of his career accomplishments, one of his proudest comes in the form of his 5’9″, 14-year-old son, LeBron James Jr.
With shared physical gifts, defensive skills and a championship mindset, there is one thing James wishes he hadn’t passed on to his son: his name.
“I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name,” James said on the debut episode of “The Shop,” which premieres next month on HBO.
“When I was younger, I didn’t have a dad,” he said, as he explained the reasoning behind his decision to name his son after him. “So my whole thing was when I have a kid, not only is he gonna be a junior, I’m gonna do everything that this man didn’t do. They’re gonna experience things that I didn’t experience.”
“The only thing I can do is give them the blueprint, and it’s up to them to take their own course whenever that time comes,” he added of the pressure his son may feel, in his attempt to fill James’ shoes.
“Watching my boys play ball, last year was the first year I really had some time to watch them play in the summer, like really sat down, went to four or five tournaments,” he continued.
“I’m sitting there and I’m watching the game, and I feel my hands just start sweating, I feel my chest start sweating. I’m like, what is this? 10 year olds out here hooping, why you feeling like this?
Then it went from just sitting there…then it went from me sitting on the bench to me getting in an argument.”
James’ son, Bronny, has quickly become a hot commodity among youth basketball players. As he heads to high school and his father head to Los Angeles, many are looking ahead to witness the father-son duo take on the NBA.
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