LeBron James: 'I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name'

ESPN logo
Friday, July 27, 2018

LeBron James has passed on physical gifts, basketball savvy and defensive skills to his son, a 5-foot-10 AAU star known as Bronny.

There is one thing he wishes he hadn't passed on, however.

"I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name," James says on the debut episode of "The Shop," which premieres Aug. 28 on HBO.

In a preview clip released Thursday, James talks about watching LeBron James Jr. play ball.

"Watching my boys play ball, last year was the first year I really had some time to watch them play in the summer, like really sat down, went to four or five tournaments," he says.

"I'm sitting there and I'm watching the game, and I feel my hands just start sweating, I feel my chest start sweating. I'm like, what is this? 10 year olds out here hooping, why you feeling like this? Then it went from just sitting there ... then it went from me sitting on the bench to me getting in an argument."

The conversation veers to the pressure his son must feel living up to a superstar for a parent. He explains why he gave his son his name.

"When I was younger, I didn't have a dad," James says, "so my whole thing was when I have a kid, not only is he gonna be a junior, I'm gonna do everything that this man didn't do. They're gonna experience things that I didn't experience.

"The only thing I can do is give them the blueprint, and it's up to them to take their own course whenever that time comes."

Related Video

Copyright © 2024 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.