The LeBron James free agency sweepstakes came to a close on Friday afternoon after the NBA’s all-time leading scorer signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 2026-27 season will be James’ 24th in the NBA, and the two-year, $8 million deal with a player option he agreed to leaves the door open for a 25th.
With James heading East after eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, what comes next for his son, Bronny James, who spent the last two seasons playing with his father?
The Lakers guaranteed his deal for the 2026-27 season at $2.29 million on June 29 as part of the four-year, $7.89 million contract he signed after being selected with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Heading into this summer, $1.25 million of the $2.29 million salary was guaranteed and by keeping the younger James on the roster past last month’s deadline, the deal became fully guaranteed.
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Notably, the 21-year-old James has a team option ($2.48 million) for the 2026-27 season with the Lakers. Los Angeles also currently has 16 players on the roster after signing Mattisse Thybulle to a one-year deal, meaning the franchise will have to cut at least one player between now and the end of training camp. Teams can carry up to 20 players on the active roster during the offseason.
Why the Lakers could keep Bronny James
James’ road to being in the Lakers’ playoff rotation earlier this spring was two years in the making — and longer than that if you go back to his time at USC. The son of arguably the greatest player in NBA history has endured plenty of scrutiny in his short career, but those playoff minutes were certainly earned.
After playing 27 regular-season games in 2024-25, Bronny appeared in 42 last year. He also split time with the South Bay Lakers, the team’s G League affiliate. James’ ceiling as an NBA player is still to be determined, but to his credit, living up to the hype surrounding his father’s NBA career would be the weight of the world for any 21-year-old.
Regardless, the younger James has shown signs of development as an NBA player since making his first appearance on opening night of the 2024-25 season. He shot 38.6% from the 3-point line (on 1.4 attempts per game) and earned playoff minutes as the Lakers topped the Houston Rockets in the first round.
Bronny James
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James’ role in the NBA long-term is likely as a 3-and-D guard who can come off the bench and make an impact. In his limited minutes against Houston, he did exactly that.
Bronny’s contract is also minimal, with a team option for next season. Even with LeBron off to Philadelphia, it could make sense for the Lakers to keep Bronny as a cheap, cost-controlled contract. The Lakers had a busy offseason that included signing Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and acquiring Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade.
Los Angeles also signed former Nets forward Ziaire Williams earlier this week to a one-year deal. Notably, Bronny and Williams were high school teammates at Sierra Canyon High School in Southern California.
Could Bronny follow LeBron to the 76ers?
While the Lakers keeping Bronny could make sense, you can’t rule out the father-son duo reuniting in Philadelphia. However, because of events that previously transpired between Jaylen Brown, who was acquired by Philadelphia earlier this summer, and the James family, that could be an obstacle. When Bronny was playing in summer league with the Lakers in 2024, Brown appeared to say, while sitting next to Angel Reese and Kysre Gondrezick courtside, that he “didn’t think Bronny is a pro.”
LeBron was asked about his relationship with Brown earlier this year and stated it has been “pretty respectful” despite the earlier comments made about his son.
“Our relationship has been pretty respectful,” James stated. “Besides the s— he stated about Bronny in summer league. But other than that, we’ve been alright.”
Because Bronny’s contract is near the league minimum, a team is more likely to acquire him via trade. So, what would the cost be? A potential deal could revolve around one or two second-round picks. It’s also possible the Lakers could waive Bronny to clear their roster crunch, which would clear the path for him to sign with the 76ers.
