LeBron would be 43 years old by the time Bryce James can play in the NBA.
LeBron James will turn 38 years old in December during the 2022-2023 NBA season, but he isn’t thinking about retiring anytime soon. James may not be the best player in the league anymore, but he’s still comfortably in the top-10 and has the ability to take over any game he plays in. When considering James’ future in basketball, he has one desire that just about everyone knows of: LeBron hopes to play with his oldest son, LeBron James Jr. (better known as Bronny James), before he calls it quits.
Bronny is set to begin his senior year of high school at Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles. He is reportedly favoring going to college (as opposed to playing in the G League or overseas) before he’s eligible to enter the draft, with Ohio State, UCLA, and Oregon among the front-runners in his recruitment.
When Bronny takes the floor for his senior year, he won’t be the only James on the team: his younger Bryce will also be on varsity this season as a sophomore. Bryce James has kept a much lower profile than Bronny, but he’s turning into a prospect in his own right. Bryce now stands a few inches taller than his older brother, and is reportedly listed at 6’6. While he isn’t listed in the recruiting rankings for the class of 2025 just yet (where the top-rated prospect is Carlos Boozer’s son Cameron), Bryce will certainly have the ability to build a name for himself in the coming years as he plays for Sierra Canyon and on the EYBL circuit.
All three James boys shared the cover of Sports Illustrated this month 20 years after LeBron first famously appeared on the magazine’s cover as “The Chosen One.” Chris Ballard wrote a wonderful cover story I’d encourage everyone to read, and it includes a few notable tidbits of information. One of them is that LeBron is thinking about hanging on in the NBA until Bryce gets a chance to play in the league.
Still, the wheels are already turning. The free-agency deals and trades swirling around us?
“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.”
I do the math—2027?—and nod at Bryce. “Is there a chance you’d stick around for this guy, too?”
LeBron smiles. “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.
”It’s a lot to imagine: LeBron at 43, playing in an NBA game with both of his sons. But then, Tom Brady is still rolling at 45. Why can’t it happen?
Much of the cover story touches on the pressure LeBron has put on Bronny by publicly stating he hopes to play with him. That comment reportedly came as news to both Bronny and LeBron’s wife Savannah, who never knew LeBron had been planning that in his head. Bronny is a high-major college prospect, but still has a long way to go to earn a spot in the NBA. At this point, the general consensus seems to be that he won’t be a first round pick, but he’s objectively a talented player who should have a path to the league even without his dad’s help.
Now Bryce may face the same pressure. There isn’t much known about LeBron’s youngest son to this point. He’s long been in the background of photos wearing glasses, and now he wears goggles on the court. His mother Savannah said Bryce is more like her in terms of his demeanor: “he’ll clap back if you talk to him,” she told SI.
Assuming the current NBA rules remain the same, Bryce would not be able to enter the NBA Draft until 2026. LeBron would be about to turn 43 years old the following season. That would not make him the oldest player in the NBA’s modern era — Kevin Willis played until he was 44 years old before retiring in 2007 — but he would certainly be touching history. The great ones have a way of sticking around, though, with 45-year-old Tom Brady as one recent example.
Per the SI story, James sees Brady as an inspiration:
(Also: James told me he draws inspiration from Brady. “He took a chunk of me when he retired, and then when he came back I was like, ‘I needed that for sure.’ “)
Is LeBron James really going to play in the NBA until his mid-40s? It would seem foolish to rule it out. James is past his prime at this point, and he’s still incredible. The NBA is made up of the best 450 players in the world, and it’s hard to imagine a time when LeBron wouldn’t make that cut-off as long as he can stay healthy. Whether his children are among the best 450 players in the world remains to be seen — but having a famous father with a ton of influence will certainly help, whether it’s fair to everyone else or not.
No father-son duo has ever played in an NBA game together. LeBron might try to do it twice.
