Bronny James criticized after not supporting Luka Dončić

In recent weeks, many have begun to speculate that there may be a rift between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers as the organization transitions to handing the reigns over to Luka Dončić to be the face of the franchise. But how does a potential rift between the Lakers and LeBron James affect the future of Bronny James?

The Lakers recently inked Dončić to a three-year $165 million contract extension, which became official on Saturday when a press conference was held in light of the news. Many Lakers players were in attendance to show their support for Dončić. But two players that weren’t in attendance included both LeBron James and Bronny James, who instead were seemingly on vacation playing golf over the weekend.

While most focused on LeBron’s absence in light of the recent reports that LeBron and the Lakers relationship “isn’t in the best place right now”, Dan Patrick instead focused on Bronny’s absence and how that potentially impacts his future in Los Angeles.

On the most recent episode of The Dan Patrick Show, Patrick explained how he felt that it was “important” for Bronny to be in attendance given how Bronny has yet to establish himself as a building block on the Lakers roster.

“Luka signs a contract extension, a three-year deal,” said Patrick. “And you had a lot of players who were there. LeBron was not there, although he Facetimed Luka. I’m guessing he knew this was going to happen. But okay, you’re on vacation. The one person I thought should have been there was his son. Bronny James, if he wants to stay longer after LeBron leaves, that’s your teammate. That’s what was surprising. Bronnie James should have been there. You’re the last guy on the roster. You should be there, show support.

“It just felt like, ‘Hey, my dad’s LeBron. We got a vacation.’ I mean, that’s where you say, ‘Dad, that’s my teammate.’ If LeBron doesn’t want to be there… It just feels like there’s a game going on, the passive-aggressive, who knows, European League, back and forth. I’m working out at the old Clippers facility, and here we go. You should be there. It’s important. But, as it was pointed out to me from somebody with the Lakers yesterday, Luka is the face of the Lakers. LeBron is the face of the league. And they both play on the same team.

“I was told last night, ‘Make no mistake about it, it’s Luka’s team.’ And LeBron knows that. There is nothing else he can do. Because if he was going to do something, he wouldn’t have signed that contract extension. He would have said I’m going to bookend this and I’m going back to Cleveland. And I’m gonna win another championship. If it’s about winning and you want to have the final say in all of this, you could have. You don’t want to lose that address. You want to be in Los Angeles. All of your business ties are there. Your family is there, you are there. Be there to support Luka.”

“Bronny James should’ve been there. You’re the last guy on the roster, you should be there.”

– DP reacts to the notable omission of LeBron and his son Bronny from Luka Dončić’s press conference for his new contract extension. pic.twitter.com/v8kljEdDcT

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) August 4, 2025

Patrick would go on to critique LeBron’s role in Bronny not being at Luka’s press conference, explaining how if he were Bronny’s father, he would understand how important it is for Bronny to be present in supporting Dončić.

“Bronny should have been there,” Patrick reiterated. “‘Dad, I’m gonna cut short this vacation. I need to be there. I think it’s really important.’ If that’s my son and he said that, I would be like, ‘Alright son, you are right. You should be there.’ But if LeBron Facetimed Luka and he is alright with it, I don’t think there is any acrimony there. But I think it’s awkward.”

Maybe Bronny did send some kind of congratulatory message behind the scenes to Dončić. But regardless, Patrick’s message does hold some weight given that Bronny is still looking to carve out a meaningful role in the NBA.

Clearly, if Bronny is going to be a long-term fixture in Los Angeles even after his dad does eventually retire, he will need to establish a working relationship with Dončić. And at the very least, there is an argument to be made that Bronny could have helped build that relationship by being in attendance to support Dončić’s contract extension over the weekend.