‘I Need To Be On The Floor With My Boy’

As LeBron James closes in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record, which he could surpass next month, another factor is keeping him motivated to play as he approaches his 40s: his desire to play with his son Bronny.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy,” LeBron told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin for a piece on “NBA Today.” “I gotta be on the floor with Bronny.”

LeBron said it could be either in the “same uniform or a matchup with him…I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr./Jr. thing. That would be ideal, for sure, being with him, spending a full year with him in the same uniform, that would be the icing on the cake.”

The Griffeys played together for the Cincinnati Reds in 1990 and ‘91, and actually hit back-to-back home runs in one game in 1990.

Last August, LeBron agreed to a 2-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers, with a player option for 2024-25.

Asked what he tells Bronny about their potential future together, LeBron said, “We don’t, we don’t discuss. He hears what I say. I asked him what is his aspirations, and he says he wants to play in the NBA, so he wants to do it. Put in the work. I’m here already so I’m just waiting on him.”

Bronny James, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles, won’t be eligible for the NBA until 2024, when LeBron will turn 40. Bronny has one year before then where he could either play college, sit out and train or choose a professional path. His team will play this weekend at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Bronny “wants to go the college route,” LeBron told Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated in the magazine’s October cover story. Ohio State, USC and Memphis are among the schools linked to Bronny, who is expected to wait until the spring to commit. He visited Ohio State with his father in September, when fans at the football game chanted, “We want Bronny.”

Savannah James, Bronny’s mother, said she just wants her son to be happy — no matter what he ends up doing.

“Of course Dad is wanting [Bronny] to play on the same court eventually, maybe on the same team,” she told SI for the October issue. “That would be the icing on the cake for his career, and probably [as] a father.

“But for me, I just want [Bronny] to be happy. If you are happy playing in gaming competitions in Long Beach, then that’s what I want you to do. If you’re happy being a franchise player for an NBA team, that’s what I want you to do. . . . A lot of people are doing things and moving through life and aren’t necessarily happy.”