Bronny James Rumors

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has added to his extensive list of tattoos, this time with his family. Tattoo artist Ganga shared on his Instagram story that LeBron, Bronny, Bryce, and Savannah were getting a “family tattoo.” While unable to see the design, Ganga did share a short video of each family member getting their tattoo done on their right wrists. For LeBron, it adds to a collection reportedly totaling more than 25 tattoos. His most notable include “Chosen 1,” ” Witness,” and several tattoos honoring family members and the late Kobe Bryant. The latest tattoo marks a rare moment of the James family getting inked together.

Clutch Points

Asked about James this time, Smith hinted at prior attempts by James to come at him but refused to re-engage. However, Smith took particular note of James’ decision to choose a fellow ESPNer, Pat McAfee, for his sitdown. That interview notably aired on the network directly following Smith’s First Take. “All I would say is people don’t know the things that have happened behind the scenes,” Smith said. “Things that have been said, who they’ve been said to. The kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me, along with contemporaries and others.” “There’s a lot of sh*t that I don’t say. And there’s a reason that I feel the way that I do. And the last straw was him approaching me and turning the Bronny thing into something about me attacking somebody’s family, when it was him I was talking about. Not Bronny. And then to go on The Pat McAfee Show, which comes directly on after my show. On the channel that I work on. To insult me. Now, people can get into all kind of components that go into it and all that other stuff. I have nothing to say.”

Awful Announcing

Stephen A. Smith: He is, in my mind, the second greatest player in the history of basketball, who is a four-time champion, a four-time league MVP. He's been an incredible ambassador for the game of basketball. His respect has been earned, not given, and nobody can deny that. But that's the basketball player, not the man. And all I would say is people don't know the things that have happened behind the scenes, things that have been said, who they've been said to, the kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me along with contemporaries and others. There's a lot of that I know that I don't say, and there's a reason that I feel the way that I do. And the last straw was him approaching me and turning the Bronny thing into something about me attacking somebody's family when it was him I was talking about, not Bronny. And then to go on a Pat McAfee show, which comes directly on after my show on the channel that I work on to insult me.

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Bronny James has been on a strong developmental path since he was selected No. 55 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft. While it was clear from early minutes in the NBA last season that he wasn’t quite ready, he made massive strides in the G League, and the difference between his Summer League showings in 2024 and 2025 proved that completely. Now, the Lakers have an intriguing decision ahead. Their guard rotation is relatively locked in with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent. But injuries happen, and getting through an 82-game season requires more than just four players at the guard position. That is why Lakers assistant Nate McMillan, who recently appeared on “The Sports Shop” with Reese and K-Mac, believes that Bronny might be in line to get real rotational minutes this season.

Lakers Nation

“We’ve seen a lot of growth from year one. He had, I thought, a really good Summer League this year. A young guy like that coming in with this type of pressure that he came into the league with last year was unbelievable. When we played in the Las Vegas Summer League last year and this year, his games were sold out to see him. The fanbase has really, I think for the most part, been really supportive of him. He spent a lot of time in the G League this season and I really feel that helped him because when he came out into this Summer League…you could see the confidence. He was much more relaxed than he was last year. Everybody would have been as nervous as can be last season but he was much more relaxed this season. His shot was never broken but the confidence, you could see he was knocking down those shots, getting to the basket. Defensively, we wanted him to challenge himself to pick up the ball…I love Bronny. Great young man and we expect him to possibly get some minutes this year.”

Lakers Nation

LeBron James and son Bronny were noticeably not in attendance at the news conference, but I'm told that LeBron FaceTimed Luka Doncic on Saturday morning to congratulate him on the new deal. Austin Reaves, meanwhile, is currently away in Asia on a promotional sneaker tour for his Rigorer signature shoe.

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Two days later, in the Lakers' second game, he scored 14 points and had two steals in a 94-81 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. "My head is all over the place," he told ESPN. "There's so much going on in Vegas. I personally don't like summer league at all. I like the competition and the games, but I don't like coming to Vegas and being in Vegas ... After this, I'm just doing nothing."

ESPN

FAILURE, OF COURSE, is a relative term for James. After going into cardiac arrest two years ago because of a congenital heart defect, requiring surgery that left a 6-inch scar down the center of his chest, wins and losses on a basketball court take on a different scope. Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, with whom James has grown close, sees the experience as a valuable mental edge for his teammate. "Having the game taken away from you at a younger age in the way he did, whether it be injury or whatever it was, I think it gave him a different appreciation," Vincent told ESPN.

ESPN

Though such perspective has helped steel him, James says he still feels lingering physical effects. "I get kind of sick easier now," he said. "Which is kind of weird, but I think it messed with my immune system a little bit. So, I would have times where I have to sit out, and that conditioning that I'm working on just goes away in that week of me being out." It happened this summer, with an illness keeping him out of a week's worth of workouts leading up to the California Classic. His conditioning suffered, and the team held him out of the opener in San Francisco. Then, he was on a minutes restriction in his second game. "Anytime you have a situation like this, it takes some time for the body's collaborative immune system to build back up," Lakers athletic trainer Mike Mancias told ESPN. "It's very normal to have even elite athletes experience this. But because of Bronny's age and condition, it [will happen] even faster."

ESPN

"The biggest thing for Bronny is that he has to get in elite shape," Redick told ESPN. "That's the barrier of entry for him right now. And if he does that, I think he's got a chance to be a really fantastic player in the NBA."

ESPN

“I definitely think those G League reps were amazing for me to be comfortable in my game, so that’s helped for me to be out there for an extended period of time,” added Bronny James. “My confidence has grown from last year, throughout the G League season and some NBA games. It’s been a slow progression, but it’s working out so far. “

NBA.com

By the eye test, Bronny James looked to have added some significant muscle to his 20-year-old frame, which he confirmed. “Yeah, for sure,” he said. “Definitely using my body more (than in high school, at USC and) when I was first drafted. I wasn’t using my body as well, but the physicality in the NBA is at a way higher level, so I had to get my body right.”

NBA.com

“I remember how athletic Bronny looked at like, maybe, couldn’t have been more than three or four,” Curry said. “And how fast he ran across the — I’m like, he going somewhere. And now to see him in the league is crazy.”

Lakers Daily

The NBA 2K26 Las Vegas Summer League saw a 27% viewership uptick this year across ESPN and ESPN2. Games averaged 255,000 viewers, up from 201,000 last year. It’s still below the 2023 slate when Spurs C Victor Wembanyama debuted, which averaged 310,000 viewers (that was the league’s second-best figure yet). The record remains 322,000 for games in 2017, which were fueled by the arrival of Lonzo Ball with the Lakers. Sunday’s championship game between the Hornets and Kings drew 420,000 viewers, up from 406,000 for Grizzlies-Heat in the title game. Helping overall numbers this year’s was Cooper Flagg’s debut with the Mavericks against Bronny James and the Lakers. That drew 955,000 viewers, which is the fourth-best Summer League audience ever.

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