Tennis royalty Serena Williams’ competitiveness naturally came out on stage at the 2024 ESPYS when she took a playful shot at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and his son Bronny.
“LeBron wants to win with his son on his team,” Williams joked. “I won with my daughter in my belly. I think we know which one is way more impressive.”
Venus, who lost to her eight-week pregnant younger sister Serena during the 2017 Australian Open, replied in jest: “That was 2 vs 1. It wasn’t fair.”
Serena Williams spoke about LeBron playing with his son, Bronny, while hosting the ESPYS
Serena: “LeBron wants to win a title with his son on his team… I won with my daughter, in my belly. I think we know which 1 is more impressive”
Venus: “That was 2 vs 1 it wasn’t fair” 😂
During her opening monologue at the ESPYS, Serena poked fun at LeBron’s receding hairline to wish Bronny a long career in the NBA.
“Another memorable moment in sports this year was LeBron James’ son Bronny, he got drafted to the Lakers where he will play with his dad. I truly hope Bronny has a long career, so long that he will see his hairline recede, then, miraculously unrecede, like dad,” Williams joked drawing laughter from the audience.
LeBron and Bronny James Set to Make History
LeBron and Bronny James are set to become the first father-and-son duo in NBA history to play for the same team. But Bronny, selected 55th overall in the NBA Draft and has become the most scrutinized second-round pick, will not be in the Lakers’ regular rotation during his rookie year, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“What the Lakers’ expectations are is that he’ll largely be a G League player, like almost any 19-year-old player coming into the league drafted in the second round,” Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter on July 3.
“I think what you’ll ultimately, probably see is Bronny James in the first week of the season on the court with his father in a very … I don’t want to call it ceremonial, but the eyes of the world will be on that. They’ll do that the first week of the season, but there’s no expectation Bronny James is going to be in the Lakers’ rotation.”
The Lakers signed Bronny to a standard second-round selection contract worth $7.9 million deal over four years.
Bronny James Off to Slow Start in NBA Summer League
Bronny James has struggled offensively in his NBA Summer League debut.
In two California Classic games, Bronny averaged 3.5 points on a dismal 33.3% shooting while dishing out 2.5 assists in 25.5 minutes. But defensively, he showed plenty of promise by posting 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks.
While Bronny’s numbers were not as gaudy as his father’s, he was a box-office hit.
Bronny’s Summer League debut drew an average of 534,000 viewers on ESPN, per Awful Announcing. It was ESPN’s largest audience ever for a non-Vegas Summer League game.
Bronny James Does Not Care About Being Liked
In a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on July 7, LeBron revealed that, unlike him, his son does not care about other people’s opinions about him.
“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” James said. “He doesn’t care [about criticism]. I actually care a little bit. When I came in [as a rookie], I wanted people to like me, and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. … He doesn’t give a [explicit].
Bronny projected that self-assuring confidence while grateful to have realized his NBA dream during his introductory presser.
“He does not care about nobody,” James continued. “He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s like the coolest. He’s like the complete opposite of his dad. His dad will say something [to address the critics]. Bro does not care. … Everything that’s being said about him, he really does not care.”
Bronny has the spotlight on him like his father had when he entered the NBA in 2003. But the circumstances are different. LeBron was a teenage prodigy who exceeded expectations to put himself in the GOAT (greatest of all time) conversations. Bronny, on the other hand, is getting scrutinized for getting drafted despite a lackluster one-and-done season at USC.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
