LeBron James, Bryce Maximus James. Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
LeBron James’ youngest son, Bryce, sent his brother, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., love after the college athlete suffered cardiac arrest on Monday, July 24.
Bryce, 16, shared a sweet photo via his Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 25, in honor of his siblings’ recent hospitalization. In the snap, Bryce and Bronny, 18, are walking side by side with their backs to the camera. Bryce added a red heart emoji to the picture.
The teenager’s subtle show of support for Bronny came one day after James’ eldest child was rushed to the hospital on Monday following a basketball workout at the University of Southern California. (Bronny will be a freshman at USC this fall and is already part of the school’s basketball team.)
“Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital,” a spokesperson for the James family told Us Weekly on Tuesday. “He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.”
The statement continued: “LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
LeBron, 38, shares sons Bronny and Bryce as well as daughter Zhuri, 8, with wife Savannah James. The couple, who are high school sweethearts, tied the knot in September 2013 after more than 10 years together.
While LeBron’s career as a professional NBA player has made headlines for decades, he beamed with pride when Bronny announced in May that he had signed with USC to play basketball.
“Fight On✌?#committed,” Bronny captioned Instagram pics of himself at the time in the USC basketball locker room. The team confirmed the following month that Bronny was officially on campus and had started working out with the Trojans.
That same month, USC announced that Bronny will be wearing the No. 6 on his jersey for the 2024 season. LeBron has worn both No. 23 and No. 6 during his own career.
Before Bronny committed to USC, LeBron revealed that he wanted to stay in the NBA until his eldest son joined the league. LeBron, who is currently on the Los Angeles Lakers, hinted that he couldn’t retire until he shared the court with his firstborn.
“My last year will be played with my son,” LeBron told The Athletic in February 2022. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
However, when the Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets during the 2023 playoffs, LeBron confessed he was unsure about his future in the sport.
“I haven’t begun to even think about next year,” he said during a May press conference after the Lakers lost in the 2023 West Conference Finals. “We had a great run, but we fell short of our goal and our goal is to win championships. That’s what this franchise is about, so that’s disappointing.”
LeBron told reporters: “We’ll see what happens going forward, but I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about to be honest. Just personally, with me moving forward with the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about.”
