L.A. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard withdrew from Team USA’s men’s basketball team. He will not travel to Paris, France for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
LeBron James reportedly said his son Bronny James is ready to step up and replace Kawhi on Team USA.
LeBron, 39, and Bronny, 19, would be the first father-son duo to play for Team USA in the Olympics.
Team USA has been in Las Vegas training for the Olympic Games in France, which begin on July 26 to August 11.
“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” USA Basketball said in a statement. “He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”
Bronny signed a 4-year guaranteed rookie contact with his father’s team, the Los Angles Lakers. He received a $500,000 cash bonus for signing.
Bronny will play his second game in the NBA’s summer league against the Miami Heat today (July 10). He sat out Sunday’s game against the Warriors due to “trace swelling” in his knee.
Bronny scored just 4 points in the Lakers’ 108-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
Lakers fans roasted the shooting guard for his poor performance in the summer league.
But LeBron said Bronny doesn’t give a f*** what fans think about his skills.
“I don’t know if people really understand Bronny,” James told ESPN on Sunday. “He doesn’t care. I actually care a little bit. When I came in [as a rookie], I wanted people to like me, and some of the things that people were saying about me kind of bothered me early on in my career. … He doesn’t give a f—.”
LeBron continued: “He does not care about nobody. He doesn’t even listen to that stuff. He’s like the coolest. He’s like the complete opposite of his dad. His dad will say something [to address the critics]. Bro does not care. … Everything that’s being said about him, he really does not care.”
