Everything Bronny James Said About LeBron Leaving Lakers for 76ers in NBA Free Agency

Bronny James will play in the NBA on a different team than his famous father for the first time in his career during the 2026-27 season, and the Los Angeles Lakers guard is looking forward to seeing how things unfold.

"It's something different for sure," he told reporters Monday when discussing not playing with LeBron James. "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 there and all my teammates and stuff like that. I'm excited for it, and I'm excited for the season."

He expanded on those comments as media day continued:

He will get to spend Christmas Day with his father, though, as the Lakers will host the Philadelphia 76ers.

The younger James averaged just 4.8 points per game during his one collegiate season with USC, so it wasn't difficult to speculate the King's presence on the Lakers played a role in the team's decision to draft his son in the second round in 2024.

Bronny James was also just a secondary role player for the Purple and Gold during his first two seasons, but he showed signs of taking a leap.

He increased his points (2.3 to 2.9), assists (0.8 to 1.2) and steals per game (0.3 to 0.5) from his first to second season. He also improved his overall efficiency as his field-goal percentage jumped from 31.3 to 40.9 and three-point percentage jumped from 28.1 to 38.6.

What's more, he scored five points and saw important time during Game 3 and Game 4 of Los Angeles' first-round playoff victory over the Houston Rockets.

"I'm coming in like I'm playing against the Houston Rockets last year in the playoffs," James said Monday. "I'm coming in aggressive, I'm coming in playing smart, playing my game, and whatever the team needs I'm that guy."

That should help him continue on the upward trajectory fans saw from his first to second seasons even if he is no longer teammates with his father.