"We're in the lab a little bit" - Bronny James admits influencing dad's LeBron 20s and 21s
Growing up, Bronny James has had a close-eye view of LeBron James and all his ventures on and off the court. As he gets ready to make the leap to the pros, he admitted to playing a small part behind the scenes.
Since signing with Nike in 2003, LeBron has put out a long line of signature shoes. Bronny touched on this during an interview with Joe La Puma of "Complex." While talking about some of the newer iterations, he admitted to helping his dad design the LeBron 20s and 21s.
"We were in the lab a little bit," Bronny said. "I was helping him cook up some stuff for shoes. He wanted to get some feedback from his sons, which I think helped a lot."
Aside from helping his dad put out stylish new products, Bronny James is also trying to follow in his footsteps. After just one year of college, the son of the LA Lakers star has put his name in the 2024 NBA draft. Just days away from the event, the guard prospect is projected to hear his name called in Round 2.
Bronny James lists LeBron 1s and 20s as his favorite from dad's signature line
After taking credit for his work on LeBron’s shoes, Bronny was then put on the spot to pick his favorite from his dad’s collection. As expected, his answer had some bias.
In a shocking turn of events, the first shoe Bronny James brought up as his favorite was a throwback. When it comes to being on the basketball court, he went with LeBron’s first signature shoe.
“To play in, like the 1s for me,” Bronny said. “I love playing in those, they are super light and they look great.”
After that, Bronny James mentioned a more current version as his other favorites. Since he had a hand in their creation, he went with the LeBron 20s.
“The 20s too,” he continued. “Can never go wrong. I helped make them.”
The LeBron 20s have countless colorways to match any style. Some of these include “Nike Lifer,” “Liverpool” and “Message in a Bottle.” Nike even put out a special edition of these shoes when LeBron passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
It is surprising to see that Bronny did not go with the LeBron 21s as his favorite. That being because a special colorway was put together just for him. The 21s have a “USC Trojans” colorway, where Bronny spent the past year playing in college.
Based on his comments on all the shoes, it appears that Bronny has a real connection to his father’s signature line. He’ll likely continue to wear these shoes as he hopes to fulfill his own NBA aspirations.