LOS ANGELES--The Los Angeles Lakers played Friday night in Miami and will meet the Hawks in Atlanta on Sunday, and LeBron James decided he wasn't going to waste his day off in the Southeast.
Instead, James chartered a jet to travel to Ohio, where his namesake son, known as Bronny, will be playing against James' alma mater.
"If you ask me what's been the only sucky thing about this season so far is that my son has played like six games into his freshman year and I haven't seen one," James said after Friday night's game, via ESPN. "I love what I do. I don't take this for granted. This is a dream come true. But missing my son, you know Bron Jr., missing [my other son] Bryce's first game the other day when we left for Orlando, his first game of the season. Missing my daughter at gymnastics and things of that nature, and I understand the business, but it sucks."
LeBron James Jr., 15, is a freshman on Sierra Canyon High School's nationally ranked team, which plays St. Vincent-St. Mary of Akron on Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio. ESPN reported a crowd of about 13,000 is expected.
"Obviously, everybody knows that St. Vincent-St. Mary is when people started to recognize me from a national standpoint," James told ESPN this week. "And my son is about to play a high school game versus my alma mater in our home state. The only thing that would have been more emotional is if my son was playing St. Vincent-St. Mary at the LeBron James Arena in Akron. That would have been, like -- that would have been too much."
James is leaving the team with the blessings of his coach.
"I know just as a parent, I know it's really exciting," coach Frank Vogel said. "We sacrifice a lot in this profession, in terms of the family time and the things we miss out on with our kids. I'm definitely happy for him that he'll be able to do that."
