LeBron James warns Bronny about potential faux pas: 'You cannot do that'

LeBron James has made it clear that his son, Bronny, is not permitted to call him "dad" during their first season as teammates on the Lakers.

On the latest episode of "The Shop" on Uninterrupted, James said he had already laid ground rules with his son about the dos and don'ts of their relationship as NBA teammates.

"He cannot call me dad in the workplace," James said of Bronny. "Once we leave the practice facility, and the gates close, I could be dad again. In the car, if we ride together, I could be dad. At home, I can be dad. Otherwise, he's gotta call me '2-3' or 'Bron' or 'GOAT' if he wants to — that's up to him [ laughs ]."

"It's easy for me because I've been calling him Bronny for so long. It's not like I've been going, 'Hey, son.' It's going to be an adjustment for him. We cannot be running down the court, and he'd be like, 'Dad, push the ball up. I'm open!' No, you cannot do that!"

It may be a while before LeBron and Bronny share an NBA court. While nothing is official, all signs point to Bronny starting his pro career as part of the Lakers' G League team, the South Bay Lakers, rather than an NBA bench. New Lakers head coach JJ Redick hinted at the same during the Summer League when he spoke about preparing Bronny for NBA-level basketball.

"He is a development player. That's how we are looking at Bronny," Redick told Sirius XM NBA Radio. "He's certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time in the G League as well."

Bronny had a subpar Summer League campaign that saw him average 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists from four games in Las Vegas. However, during his final two outings, he showed the instincts of an elite defensive guard and flashes of a playmaker and a catch-and-shoot threat.

Those performances tempered the expectations around Bronny ahead of his rookie season, even though he was never billed as a high-level prospect coming out of his one-and-done college career at USC. The 55th pick in the NBA Draft, Bronny enters the season with +30000 odds to win Rookie of the Year.

The Lakers' other rookie, Dalton Knecht, has the fourth-shortest odds to win the award, behind only Reed Sheppard, Zach Edey and Stephon Castle.