The Los Angeles Lakers held a press conference to announce Luka Doncic’s three-year $165 million contract extension this past weekend. Neither teammate with the last name James could be bothered to show up.
Sports commentator and former ESPN star Dan Patrick is pretty upset about that fact.
Patrick said that while LeBron James might have more of an excuse for not making the presser, Bronny, especially if he wants to be on the Lakers during Doncic’s presumed three years there, should have been in attendance to show support.
“Bronny James should’ve been there,” Patrick said on his show. “You’re the last guy on the roster; you should be there. Show support.”
LeBron and his son posted a video to social media showing them on the golf course while vacationing at an undisclosed location instead.
LeBron & Bronny golfing together ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/wCQAOMpeTX
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) August 3, 2025
Dan Patrick Continues Shredding Bronny James Over Weak Move
A little father-son time never hurt anybody, and no one would fault LeBron and Bronny for having a little fun in the offseason. But, as Patrick continued to point out, one of them is Doncic’s teammate for the following few seasons, and probably should have been there for support.
“The one person I thought should be there is his son. Bronny James, if he wants to stay longer after LeBron leaves, that’s your teammate,” he said on The Dan Patrick Show.
“It just felt like, ’Hey, my dad’s LeBron, we’ve got a vacation,’” Patrick continued. “That’s where you say, ‘Dad, that’s my team. That’s my teammate … I’m gonna cut short this vacation, I need to be there, I think it’s really important.’”
RELATED: Ever Since Stephen A Smith Said Bronny James ‘Belonged’ in the NBA, He’s Been Playing Like Bronny James
Will LeBron confront Patrick like he did with Stephen A Smith?
The James duo dissing Luka comes as LeBron has been engaging in head games with the organization, posting workout videos in the Los Angeles Clippers’ facility, hinting at going back to Cleveland, and letting trade rumors flourish even as he exercised his $52.6 million player option in the offseason.
Sports Illustrated branded the relationship between the legendary player and the Lakers as “awkward.”
But the organization did this to themselves, allowing LeBron to hold them hostage to draft and sign Bronny James in the first place. That move prevented the Lakers from trying to draft a player who could actually contribute to the team, as opposed to a player who could barely make the bench at USC in college.
Now, he’s going to sabotage the team for another season? Excellent work, LA.
While that all seems like a given, one has to wonder if LeBron James will also confront Dan Patrick on the basketball court and get in his face the way he famously did to Stephen A Smith. The NBA never punished him for trying to intimidate a sports reporter into positive coverage of Bronny, so why wouldn’t he do it again?
Rusty Weiss is a lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers, Dallas Cowboys, and Xavier Musketeers fan. He has been writing professionally ... More about Rusty Weiss