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NBA media day live updates: LeBron and Bronny James headline Lakers media day

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and his oldest son will join forces in L.A. this season

yahoo sports staff
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LeBron James has been through two decades of NBA media days, but perhaps none quite like this one. The Los Angeles Lakers are often one of the most scrutinized teams in the NBA and this season, with Bronny James joining his dad in in the purple and gold, the Lakers will be under a microscope.

The pair made their public debut as teammates on Monday at Lakers media day. For LeBron, the moment marked the culmination of a dream he's spoken of since Bronny emerged as a prospect on the prep scene. He was all smiles on the set of Spectrum Sportsnet Monday when Bronny joined him for a joint interview with both of them wearing their Lakers gear.

LeBron sported his traditional No. 23. Bronny was wearing No. 9 with "James Jr." across the back.

The Lakers were one of 28 teams that held their media days Monday — the Celtics and Nuggets had theirs last week — as the teams report for training camp, which opens on October 1, ahead of the 2024-25 season. Here are some of the highlights from a busy day throughout the league:

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER18 updates

  • Contract extension updates

    A handful of players addressed an elephant in the room on media day — unsigned contract extensions.

  • LeBron James: 'I do have a lot in the tank'

    There is a running joke in NBA circles that everyone arrives to training camp in the best shape of his life. You would think that might be difficult for LeBron James, who turns 40 years old in December, but ...

  • Mum's the word on the KAT-Randle deal

    Since the swap of Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo is not yet official, neither the New York Knicks nor the Minnesota Timberwolves are supposed to be commenting on the reports.

    Which provided us this funny exchange:

    What Hart could tell reporters on Randle: "I think for him it was probably pretty difficult and pretty frustrating. He came here when they were struggling, and he helped turn the franchise around and change the trajectory of it. I think New York as a fanbase is eternally grateful to him for that."

    On the flip side:

  • 'A happy Ja is a scary Ja'

    The Memphis Grizzlies, who captured the Western Conference's No. 2 seed in 2023, are flying under the radar. They boast Ja Morant and a talented supporting cast. Except, Morant has battled his mental and physical health over the past two seasons, and almost everyone around him got injured last season, too.

    Morant is confident that his time away from the game helped him get a grip on a fluent Memphis roster.

    "It was basically like a film-study session for me to watch my teammates," Morant told reporters. "I would say it gave me a lot of confidence going into this year on how I can put them in better places."

    As for his mental health, Morant does not foresee a repeat of the behavior that earned him multiple suspensions, including a 25-game ban to start last year. Instead, he sees trouble for the rest of the NBA.

    "Honestly, I’m not even worried about proving them wrong," the 25-year-old two-time All-Star point guard added of any doubters he might encoutn. "Right now I’m happy, and that’s my main focus. I feel like a happy Ja is a scary Ja for a lot of people. So long as I stay happy and healthy, it’ll be a great season."

  • Lonzo Ball expected to play on opening night

    It has been 990 days since Lonzo Ball played an NBA game, but Chicago Bulls executive Artūras Karnišovas provided some encouraging news on that front.

  • Kawhi Leonard 'taking it day by day'

    In collaboration with the Los Angeles Clippers, Team USA removed two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard from its roster for the Paris Olympics, citing chronic soreness in his surgically repaired right knee.

    "We're taking it day by day," Leonard told reporters when asked on media day how soon he might be able to play. "Everything's been going great for the past month, but they're being very cautious for reasons."

    For reasons.

    Probably because Leonard's knee has kept him from participating fully in the last three postseasons. He told gathered media on Monday that the team wants to ensure his health for the "important moments."

    Well, the Clippers lost Paul George to free agency over the summer, and they could very well be fighting for a spot in the playoffs all season. It remains to be seen how many important moments there are in L.A.

    To ESPN's Ohm Youngmusik for more clarity:

    So much for clarity. How could anything be both "something that he could have to deal with for the rest of his career" and not "something that will be an issue down the road"? Nothing to see there, I guess.

    The Clippers replaced George with a hodgepodge of Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr., and Norman Powell, for one, does not anticipate much slippage from one season to the next.

    OK, then. Good luck with that. At least James Harden will give us a cold dose of reality ...

    Or not. Fun fact: James Harden turned 35 years old in August. Luka Dončić is 25.

  • Ausar Thompson faces 'medical process'

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    First day of school for Zaccharie Risacher

  • Gregg Popovich loves to hate Chris Paul

    🤣🤣🤣

    The Spurs paid Paul back by making the 6-foot point guard stand next to 7-3 Wembanyama ...

  • 'A great human being': NBA reacts to Mutombo's passing

    The news of Dikembe Mutombo's death broke as most of the NBA's teams convened for media day.

    Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey learned of the 58-year-old Hall of Famer's passing from brain cancer at the podium, where he was "visibly shaken." Mutombo played his final two seasons for the Houston Rockets in the late 2000s, when Morey was an upstart general manager.

    Likewise, Masai Ujiri, who worked for years alongside Mutombo, serving as ambassadors to NBA Africa, returned to the podium — fighting back tears — to share his thoughts on "a giant, an incredible person."

    More reaction from around the NBA ...

  • Embiid loses 25 pounds; Wemby adds 25 pounds

    Joel Embiid dropped 25 pounds ...

    And Victor Wembanyama, apparently, picked them up ...

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    KAT who?

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    Jalen Brunson good to go

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    Milwaukee gets off on wrong foot

    Media day is a time for optimism, except in Milwaukee, I guess, where Khris Middleton will be limited in training camp, as he ontinues to recover from offseason surgeries to both of his ankles.

    Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who both acknowledge how important their chemistry is to Milwaukee's success, did not work on their pick-and-roll partnership over the summer.

    They did not have the time to work out together last summer, either, since Lillard joined the Bucks on the dawn of training camp. It was noticeable. The Bucks fired their first-year head coach midway through last season, replaced him with Doc Rivers and lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    The rebuilding Raptors

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
  • Ben Rohrbach

    The NBA Starting Lineup Power Rankings: Can Knicks' new-look lineup compete with Celtics?

    Anyone can list the best players in the NBA, but basketball is as much about chemistry as it is talent. Within each of the league's 30 teams is a hierarchy, and how well each of the five players on the court understands and performs his role within that hierarchy is every bit as important as his individual skill.

    So we created The Starting Lineup Power Rankings — see where your team ranks here.