Bronny James didn’t offer much drama when asked about LeBron James heading to Philadelphia.
At a camp, kids pressed him on how he felt about his father leaving the Lakers for the 76ers, and Bronny kept it short and simple: " It's whatever, it's my dad." That was about as far as he went, a low-key response that says plenty without trying to make a scene.
LeBron’s move to the 76ers was a jolt, even if it wasn’t totally out of the blue. He had already become a major figure in Los Angeles, and the switch also meant leaving Bronny behind with the Lakers. That made for a strange split, especially after the two had already made history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time on the same team.
Bronny’s path has been under a microscope from the start, with critics questioning whether he was in the league because of nepotism. His draft stock slipped, but the Lakers still took him with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft while LeBron was still there. That set up the unique family pairing in Los Angeles, but it also meant the scrutiny came with the territory.
Now, with LeBron gone and Bronny remaining in Los Angeles, the younger James has a cleaner runway to show he can carve out his own identity. He has flashed as a rotation-caliber role player over the last couple of years, especially on defense, and that’s something the Lakers are going to need next season.
LeBron, meanwhile, is chasing a different mission in Philadelphia: helping the 76ers finally get over the hump and win a championship. Bronny’s task is just as clear, if less glamorous - proving the doubters wrong while standing on his own.
In Other News...
V.J. Edgecombe Could Be Crucial To The 76ers' Chemistry Fast
With LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Anfernee Simons all joining the mix, the 76ers are heading into the season with a roster that looks a lot different and a lot more demanding than the one they had before. For V.J. Edgecombe, that means the early work is about more than sharpening his own game. He is spending time on shooting drills and practice while trying to fit into a group that suddenly has a very different feel, even as his strong numbers from last season give him a foundation to build on.
Edgecombe has already started connecting with his new teammates, and there is real value in that before the games even matter. The 76ers are still in the part of the process where chemistry has to be built, not assumed, and a young player learning alongside established names can speed that up in a hurry. Edgecombe has sounded upbeat about absorbing what he can from the veterans around him, which is exactly the sort of small but important step Philadelphia will need as it looks ahead to the 2026-27 season. [Read more 🡒]
James Harden Reopened A Painful 76ers Debate Fans Never Resolved
James Hardens latest comments have pulled an old 76ers conversation back into the open. After signing a three-year, $97 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harden reflected on the sacrifices he made in Brooklyn and Philadelphia in pursuit of a championship, and the regret that came with them. For Sixers fans, it is a familiar and uncomfortable reminder of a short partnership that arrived with huge expectations and ended with plenty of frustration.
His time in Philadelphia was always going to be judged through two lenses: the front-office friction that came with it and what happened on the floor when the postseason pressure hit. Hardens run with the Sixers included conflict behind the scenes and a 2023 playoff showing that left the organization with more questions than answers. Even now, with Harden moved on, the debate around what Philadelphia got out of the deal and what it gave up in the process still does not feel fully settled. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Have A Contender Problem Most NBA Teams Would Envy
The 76ers have spent the offseason building something that looks, at least on paper, like the kind of roster most teams would love to have. With a starting five that includes Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, Philadelphia has real star power and the sort of depth that should keep it in the mix all season, even if the leagues conversation has already started to zero in on how the pieces fit at the top.
CBS Sports still ranked the Sixers top duos only fifth among NBA teams, a reminder that contender status in this league is often decided by how well the best two players stack up against the rest of the field. The Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs all landed higher, a list shaped in part by recent championship success, and it leaves Philadelphia with a familiar kind of pressure heading into the new season: finding the right leading combination before the games start to matter most. [Read more 🡒]