Back in early January last year, Savannah and LeBron James sat down with Uninterrupted for an interview. They were asked about their hopes for Bronny James’ future. As a mother, Savannah’s answer was genuine – she wanted him to be happy in whatever he does. On the other hand, James was crystal clear. He wanted his eldest in the NBA.
A vision took over of him sharing the floor with Bronny. Looking at his elite production at almost 39, fans are envisioning him alongside both of his sons.
Being the son of an NBA great has its implications, both sweet and sour. You do get some attractive perks, but the enormous expectations they have to emulate a career like their father can’t be denied.
Both the James sons are playing basketball. Bryce at Sierra Canyon and Bronny is a freshman at USC. But is that what they really want? An old clip of Savannah James admitting a different dream has given rise to that query.
Bronny James doesn’t want basketball?
Five years ago, the businesswoman was a guest on Driving Cleveland. Host Andrea Vecchi and Savannah James drove around Akron, her hometown while having conversations about the latter’s life. Without surprise, her children came up. Raising two boys and a girl in LeBron James’ household couldn’t be easy.
Basketball has always been around them. However, she claimed it was never forced on her children in any way. Furthermore, she said they embraced their children exploring their true passions. In doing so she revealed a unique dream Bronny James shared with her.
“It’s one thing to have a passion for basketball and love the sport. Both of my boys play basketball, and they’re very good at playing basketball. But my oldest son wants to be a professional snowboarder,”
While she did admit both of the James clan’s sons are good basketball players, being a snowboarder came off as a surprise. Not once had we heard this dream of Bronny’s before this interview half a decade ago.
So can we assume he was pressurized to forego his snowboarding dream?
LeBron James didn’t force basketball on his sons
As outsiders, we can easily assume if the father is in the NBA, the son might follow. It’s a pattern we see even today. Most ex-NBA stars’ children have found their passion in basketball. Similar is the case with LeBron James’ two sons. They both are at the center of high school and college ball respectively. But it isn’t out of an expectation that they strive to be in the NBA.
In a segment with Maverick Carter and Paul Rivera in 2020, James said, “There’s not one time that I ever asked my kids, ‘Do you want to play basketball. It was just in them,”
James continued, “It’s okay to not want to be a professional basketball player just because your dad is who he is in that arena.” In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Savannah revealed Bronny was fascinated by snowboarding and had even approached her about pursuing it as a career. While she and LeBron were supportive of their son’s passion, they also made sure to remind him of the challenges that come with being a professional athlete in any sport.
As outsiders, we can easily assume if the father is in the NBA, the son might follow. It’s a pattern we see even today. Most ex-NBA stars’ children have found their passion for basketball. Similar is the case with LeBron James’ two sons. They both are at the center of high school and college ball, respectively. But it isn’t out of an expectation that they strive to be in the NBA. LeBron James once even mentioned how didn’t enforce a basketball career on his sons.
When Bronny showed off his snowboarding talent
As noted earlier, Bronny wanted to be a professional snowboarder, and it seems like he wouldn’t have looked out of place gliding across the snow if his video from 2017 in Aspen, Colorado is anything to go by.
In a video uploaded by TMZ, we can see Bronny and his younger brother Bryce showcasing their snowboarding skills during a spring break trip to Aspen. Their mother told TMZ, “Bronny, is all about the sport — and he got his younger brother, Bryce, to push himself on the mountain.”
Despite the two brothers enjoying their adventure in the snow, it looks likely they are going to follow in their father’s footsteps and we may even get to see Bronny share the court with his legendary father in the NBA soon enough. Do you think Bronny would have made a successful career in snowboarding?