The James family’s NBA path has split into two very different jobs.
LeBron James is in Philadelphia, starting over with the 76ers after eight years as the face of the Lakers. Bronny James is still in Los Angeles, entering his third NBA season and trying to win a rotation role without his father around the building.
That separation is the point. The next chapter for one James is about fitting into a new franchise. The next chapter for the other is about becoming more than a famous last name.
Bronny said he is ready for his first training camp without LeBron, and he has not sounded weighed down by the change. He said he is excited to face his father on Christmas Day, when the 76ers visit the Lakers on Dec. 25. For a player still trying to secure a regular role with the team that drafted him in 2024, the matchup is personal without being sentimental.
He also put the shift plainly: “Feels like he’s not here.”
That is the reality for Bronny now. LeBron spent eight years leading the Lakers, but the younger James is still in the same place, still working to carve out minutes in the family’s adopted hometown. The Lakers remain his team, but not his father’s team anymore.
LeBron’s first media availability as a Sixer framed the move from the other side. He said he is focused on being “the best version of myself for this franchise,” and he described a locker room that already feels aligned.
“I would say the things that I’ve learned is everybody’s kind of on the same page of the direction that the organization wants to be in,” he said.
He also said he is “still settling in” and learning new streets and people in Philadelphia, a reminder that this is not just a jersey change. It is a new city, a new routine and a new set of teammates. The 41-year-old signed a two-year, $8 million contract on the veterans’ minimum, and he said he wants to bring “experience” and “knowledge” to the group.
“I hope that I can, you know, bring that experience, bring that knowledge, bring the blueprint to the guys that’s trying to accomplish some things that they haven’t done in their career,” LeBron said.
That message fits the stage of his career. LeBron started in Cleveland in 2003, spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers, then built the rest of his résumé through the Heat, Cavaliers again and Lakers. He has averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists over more than 1,600 games, and last season he still put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.
But the move to Philadelphia is also tied to a specific goal. LeBron left the Lakers to chase his fifth championship ring, and he made clear he does not want the ending he just left behind.
“I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round,” he said.
The 76ers are coming off a 45-37 season and a second-round sweep by the Knicks, so LeBron’s arrival lands with a clear backdrop. He said he is excited to play for Philadelphia fans, and he said he believes the organization is moving in the same direction. The next test comes quickly: the Christmas Day game at Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers will host the 76ers and LeBron will return to the building he once controlled.
For Bronny, the calendar points to the same date for a different reason. Christmas is the night he gets to line up against his father, but it is also another chance to keep building his own case in Los Angeles. The story around him is no longer about sharing the Lakers with LeBron. It is about whether he can make his own place there now that LeBron is gone.
That is what makes the James family’s current NBA story feel split in two. In Philadelphia, LeBron is trying to make a new team feel familiar. In Los Angeles, Bronny is trying to make his own name feel real.