The Los Angeles Lakers’ season ended prematurely, unfortunately, as they were defeated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round after Anthony Davis missed time due to a groin injury and LeBron James was playing hobbled with a high ankle sprain.
The silver lining of an early exit is that the Lakers will now have a full offseason to get healthy, a luxury they did not have last year after winning the championship in the Orlando bubble and then only having 71 days to get ready for 2020-21.
James especially could use the rest as the 36-year-old gets ready to go into his 19th NBA season. The offseason also serves another purpose for him as he gets to spend much-needed time with his family, which he wouldn’t be able to do while preparing for a playoff series.
That was the case on Friday night when James and rapper Drake were seen attending Bronny James’ Sierra Canyon high school championship game, via Tarek Fattal of the L.A. Daily News:
The celebrity royalty is here. LeBron James and Drake have arrived in Chatsworth at Sierra Canyon. pic.twitter.com/ZGbrSzeGdu
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) June 12, 2021
LeBron and Drake weren’t just there to show face as they were into the game the shown jumping after an impressive dunk by Amari Bailey:
Here’s the Amari Bailey dunk. LeBron and Drake were impressed.pic.twitter.com/g2gMfGdtdC
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) June 12, 2021
There was even a hilarious moment of Drake complaining to the high school official about a poor call, via Krysten Peek of Yahoo:
Drake has a few words for the ref ???????? pic.twitter.com/zQXNoQzNlq
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) June 12, 2021
In addition to LeBron and Drake, current and former Lakers such as Jared Dudley and JR Smith were also in attendance.
Bronny James is just a sophomore at 16 years of age but unfortunately missed almost all of this season due to a knee injury. LeBron has made it clear that he is staying in the NBA hoping to get the chance to play with his son, so it will be up to Bronny to take a leap over his final two high school seasons to prove he can play in the NBA.
As far as this game went, Centennial of Corona beat Sierra Canyon, 80-72, to win the CIF Open Division title. Bronny finished with seven points in his first game since February.
LeBron changing to No. 6
In addition to getting healthy, working out and spending time with his family, James is also currently focused on the launch of his new movie, “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”
The movie is set to be released in July and features him wearing his old No. 6 jersey, which he wore with the Miami Heat. In conjunction with the movie, James is also reportedly switching to No. 6 with the Lakers next season, a change he has been talking about doing for a while.
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