Bronny James is walking into a very different season, and he knows it.
For the first time in his NBA career, he won’t have LeBron James as a teammate. LeBron left in free agency and signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, setting up a Christmas Day meeting with the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Dec.
- That will be LeBron’s first game back in the building, and it also marks the first time the NBA’s first father-son duo will face each other on the same court.
Before that matchup, Bronny was asked on Monday who in the family might be pulling for whom when the holiday spotlight turns on. His answer came with a smile.
"Probably me," James laughed.
"I know my sister's rooting for me, I don't know about my mom."
The family angle is going to hang over the game, but Bronny’s bigger concern is what this season looks like without his father beside him. At Media Day, he said he’s embracing the change.
“something different for sure,” James said. “I'm excited for the experience, to experience something different with him not being here and to see how the staff treats me without him being here.”
That shift matters for a player who has spent plenty of time under LeBron’s shadow since the Lakers selected him in the 2024 draft. Every step has come with extra attention, and the comparisons have been impossible to avoid. Now, Bronny gets a chance to answer some of that noise on his own.
He’s also trying to build on a start that hasn’t produced much scoring yet. Over his first two NBA seasons, James has averaged below three points per game.
Still, there has been some progress in his shooting. He hit 31.3% of his shots as a rookie and then improved to 40.9% from the field in his next year.
Bronny says he’s coming into this third season with a clear approach.
"I'm coming in like I'm playing against the Houston Rockets last year in the playoffs," he told reporters. "I'm coming in aggressive, I'm coming in playing smart, playing my game, and whatever the team needs I'm that guy."
That’s the mindset he’ll need now that the spotlight is all his own. Basketball Reference predicts James will average 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists this year.
In Other News...
Draymond Green Just Sent A Clear Message About His Future Deals
LeBron James unusually small contract with the 76ers this offseason has already started to ripple beyond Philadelphia, and Draymond Green is one of the latest stars paying attention. James paired that deal with a $15 million annual endorsement agreement with Polymarket, a structure that changes the usual conversation around how elite players get paid and where they choose to make up value.
Green recently weighed in on the contract size and made clear he sees the appeal of a similar setup down the line. For a team like Philadelphia, the bigger point is how one of the leagues most recognizable players can reshape the market by leaning into endorsement money and flexibility, a model that could influence how others approach both their next contracts and the business around them. [Read more 🡒]
Joel Embiid Problem Could Decide How Far The Sixers Go
Joel Embiids value to the 76ers is still enormous, but the way Philadelphia uses him on defense may end up shaping the teams ceiling this season. The concern is not whether he can still anchor a defense in the paint, but whether the physical limitations that have started to show are making it harder for him to handle the wider demands that modern offenses keep putting on a center.
For the Sixers, the answer may have less to do with Embiid doing more and more to do with the team simplifying his job. Keeping him closer to the rim, cutting down on his time chasing perimeter players and building the rest of the defense around his strengths could be the difference between surviving the spring and making a real championship push. How well Philadelphia makes those adjustments may tell the story of its season. [Read more 🡒]
LeBron Just Changed Everything For The Sixers And Knicks Rivalry
LeBron James has once again altered the balance of power in the East, and this time the ripple reaches straight through Philadelphia and New York. He confirmed that his original plan was to head to the Knicks in free agency, a move that would have instantly reshaped the rivalry, before the Knicks 2026 championship and long-awaited title breakthrough changed the equation. Instead, James settled on a two-year deal with the 76ers, adding another star to a roster already built around Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey.
For the Sixers, the timing matters almost as much as the name on the contract. New Yorks title run ended a 53-year drought and gave the franchise a new layer of momentum, but James decision keeps Philadelphia right in the center of the leagues most watchable Eastern Conference arms race. His mention of Maxey as a key factor only adds to the intrigue, because it suggests the Sixers next chapter is being shaped not just by established stars, but by the guard who may have helped convince one of the games biggest names to change course. [Read more 🡒]