The Los Angeles Lakers are losing LeBron James. So what does that mean for the future of Bronny James?
They made history together in 2024, becoming the first father and son to share the court — not to mention playing for the same team — during an NBA game. And they continued to share the same locker room and suit up purple-and-gold for the past two seasons.
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But that feel-good history gave way to reality when ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday, June 30, reported LeBron James has informed the Lakers he will be playing elsewhere during the 2026-27 season. The business of basketball, already set in motion, accelerated.
If the Lakers had waived Bronny on Monday, they would’ve saved about $1 million in cap space. But on Tuesday, Bronny remained a Laker, but his future is unclear.
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and forward LeBron James jog up the court after a play during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets of Game 4 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 26, 2026.
(Troy Taormina, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and forward LeBron James jog up the court after a play during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets of Game 4 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 26, 2026.
(Troy Taormina, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) gives the ball to guard Bronny James during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets during Game 3 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 24, 2026.
(Troy Taormina, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Bronny James react after a play during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets of Game 3 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 24, 2026.
(Troy Taormina, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) sets a pick on Houston Rockets forward Jae’sean Tate (8) as Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) dribbles the ball during the second quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April 24, 2026.
(Troy Taormina, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) sets a screen on Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday (0) as Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James takes the ball down court in the first half of Game 2 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 21, 2026.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) with son Bronny James in the first half against the Houston Rockets during Game 1 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 18, 2026.
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) gets a tap from guard Bronny James during a stoppage in play in the first half against the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena on March 30, 2026.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) interacts with guard Luke Kennard (10) and guard Bronny James (9) before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena on March 3, 2026.
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) guard Bronny James (9) and forward Rui Hachimura (28) watch game action during the second half at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 10, 2026.
(Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) greets guard Bronny James (9) as Bronny enters the game for LeBron during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 13, 2026
(Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and son Bronny James watch from the bench in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 24, 2025.
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James talks with son, guard Bronny James, during a break in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Oct. 5, 2025.
(David Gonzales, Imagn Images)
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LeBron and Bronny James making NBA history together during 2026 season
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James and forward LeBron James, wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, watch the action against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at Chase Center on Oct. 5, 2025.
(David Gonzales, Imagn Images)
Bronny James Lakers contract
Unlike his father, Bronny is not an unrestricted free agent, or a free at all.
Bronny, 21, is headed into the third year of a four-year contract, with the final year being a club option.
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But that doesn’t rule out Bronny asking for a trade if he hopes to rejoin his father and the Lakers are willing to comply.
During the 2026-27 season, Bronny will be making $2,296,271 a year, a pittance among NBA players. But critics might argue it’s debatable if he deserves to be on the roster – or if it was mostly meant to keep his father happy.
Last season, his second in the NBA, Bronny averaged 2.9 points, 1.1 assists in 8.9 minutes per game. He also shot 40.9% from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range, appreciable improvement over his rookie season.
Before the Lakers played the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last season, Lakers coach JJ Redick talked about Bronny.
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“He’s improved a lot, we trust him,’’ Redick said. “The shooting I believe in because of how well he shot it in the G league. There was a stretch where he didn’t shoot it well. He’s improved defensively in terms of his body positioning both on and off ball.”
He also remained a fan favorite, and moments with LeBron and Bronny on the court together were potential magic – including father finding son for an alley-oop during Game 3 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets this past season.
But now the father is gone.
Will the son remain with the Lakers?
Only one thing is certain: The most famous father-and-son pair in NBA history will no longer be wearing purple and gold together.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What’s next for Bronny James now that LeBron James is leaving Lakers?
