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Dave McMenamin: LeBron James reflects on the road trip: potential last games in East coast cities, Bronny getting burn and the weather. “It's been cold as hell. I know that. I’ll remember that more than anything.”
Shake Milton: Bronny’s a dope kid. He’s really cool, and he can hoop; he’s really got game. So it was cool to see. He was just living his life, too. I spent a lot of time with him—like when we were playing those extra, low-minute pickup games and stuff. Being able to see him hoop, and seeing that he puts in the work as well, it was just like two players doing their thing separately. It was really cool.” “You didn’t really feel the father-son aspect. And that’s the thing, too—it’s so individualized. You don’t really see them together until it’s team practice or the game. Other than that, Bronny might be in and LeBron might not be in, you know?”
Law Murray: The Los Angeles Lakers report that Austin Reaves (calf) is questionable again for Tuesday at Brooklyn. Bronny James (leg) is also questionable. Both did not play at New York. Adou Thiero (MCL) traveled on this road trip but will miss all of the games.
Bronny James was back in Cleveland, where his father played his first seven NBA seasons and then returned for four more years after a four-year stint with the Miami Heat. Entering the game, there would be plenty of cameras on father and son, so it was smart marketing to break out this particular shoe on Wednesday. There’s also a lot of interest and money to be made with the Bronny brand. Bronny’s NBA Summer League jersey sold at auction for $38,400 in 2024. And Nike sold Bronny’s jersey with his name during his lone college season at USC, making him the first men’s basketball player to have his jersey for sale as part of the NIL era.
“It’s literally my entire life,” Bronny James said of the city of Cleveland. “So just really appreciative of all the people that show some love. I just remember being a kid and being here pretty much every day after school. It’s a bunch of nostalgia coming back and being here.” The James family was prepared for the occasion. LeBron scanned the arena before the game to find his mother in a suite. She once watched him begin his career in this very arena, now she was watching both her son and her grandson play in the same game. After saying it out loud, the elder James struggled to process 5 idea.
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Oh No He Didn't: LeBron: "My mom get to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time" *pauses* "Shit"
Nick DePaula: Bronny James is wearing his own Nike LeBron Witness 9 PE back in Cleveland, featuring his player logo on the heel:
Courtside Buzz: REPORT: ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne says that she “knows” that LeBron James did NOT ask the Los Angeles Lakers to draft Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft. ESPN’s Steve Mason responded with, “oh, cmon! Oh, please! That is an unbelievably ridiculous concept!” But, Shelburne then pushed back that part of the reason the Lakers drafted Bronny is because LeBron would like that. They also believed in Bronny’s talent, like the Golden State Warriors & Phoenix Suns.
REPORT: ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne says that she “knows” that LeBron James did NOT ask the Los Angeles Lakers to draft Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft.
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) January 27, 2026
ESPN’s Steve Mason responded with, “oh, cmon! Oh, please! That is an unbelievably ridiculous concept!”
But, Shelburne then… pic.twitter.com/FfxvMSrDdv
Draymond Green: Do you bow down and like kiss the ring and say thank you I’m appreciative? I’ve seen LeBron speak out how he’s appreciative of the organization for giving Bronny a chance. Also Bronny did do some work. Bronny worked to become who he’s become as well. It’s not like this kid wasn’t a top recruit and didn’t play at a top college. Give Bronny some credit as well. Does LeBron being with the Lakers help Bronny get drafted there? Of course.
In 2022, in the aftermath of the Westbrook trade, multiple people said Jeanie privately mused about not giving LeBron James a contract extension and, later that year, even about trading James, with the LA Clippers floated as a possibility. (This was before James received a no-trade clause in July 2024 after signing a new two-year, $104 million contract.) And when the Lakers drafted James' son Bronny with the 55th pick in the 2024 draft, Jeanie privately remarked that James should be grateful for such a gesture, but she felt that he wasn't, people close to the team told ESPN. That summer, as she discussed a new contract for James, Jeanie seemed more resigned to the fact that they'd have to do it -- almost begrudgingly accepting that they'd take a massive PR hit by not doing so.
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Tim Reynolds: There are two NBA players voted for Bronny James to start the NBA All-Star Game. Another four voted for Isaac Jones, who has scored five points this season.
Meanwhile, the Lakers shot just 8-for-36 from 3 -- a number that looked even worse before Bronny James went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc in the final two minutes with the game already out of reach. "Had 50 potential assists tonight, we converted on 21 of those," Lakers coach JJ Redick said, referring to the team's internal analytics. "This has been the theme. It has been the theme. So, we just got to keep shooting, I guess."
In his locker after the game, Antetokounmpo had a signed purple No. 23 jersey from James. Giannis' brother, Thanasis, had a signed jersey from Bronny James. Antetokounmpo collects jerseys from his contemporaries around the league and said he asked James on the court after the final buzzer for this latest addition to his collection. "You never know," Antetokounmpo said. "Might be our last game against one another."
Who is most likely to gatekeep the best LA location? Bronny: Probably Gabe. LeBron: Oh, for sure. Gabe. Bronny: Gabe. I say Gabe. Gabe seems like he definitely got a bunch of lowkey spots and he ain't telling nobody about them. LeBron: He ain't trying to blow the spot up. Yeah, he got a bunch of duck-off spots.
