LeBron James changing his stance on playing with son Bronny?

Dec 9, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) warms-up prior to the game against the Memphis Grizzles at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James has been trying for a long time now to speak an NBA team-up with his son Bronny into existence. But now James appears to be coming off that stance just a little bit.

The Los Angeles Lakers star James spoke this week with Dave McMenamin of ESPN for a widely-publicized interview. One of the topics James touched on was the future possibility of playing with Bronny, currently an 18-year-old high school senior, in the NBA.

“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” said James. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m, at this point now, I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”

McMenamin notes that James’ comment about potentially playing in “a matchup against” Bronny is a slight adjustment from his previous stance of wanting to be teammates with Bronny. You can read the full interview here.

For at least the last year or so, rumors have abounded that James might just leave the Lakers to join whichever NBA team lands Bronny, who will become draft-eligible in 2024. While James recently agreed to a two-year extension with the purple and gold, he can still become a free agent in summer 2024 should he decline his new $50.7 million player option for the next season.

Nevertheless, there are certain NBA franchises that James has said he will never play for. Perhaps if Bronny lands with one of those franchises, his father will decide that playing against him is good enough instead.