LeBron James is distracted by son Bronny’s USC game while handling postgame interviews after Lakers win over the Mavericks: ‘Shoot it!’

After the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, LeBron James got distracted by his son Bronny’s USC game against Arizona while in the middle of his postgame interviews.

James always draws a large scrum of reporters around him, and the 6ft 9in star is usually taller than all of them – giving him the perfect view of his locker-room television for Pac-12 basketball.

Bronny started for the Trojans against the No 12 Wildcats in a 82-67 loss on Wednesday. The moments captured on film of the elder James switching from Lakers star to supportive dad, and back, appear to have taken place five minutes into the second half.

That is due to LeBron commenting on his son missing a lay-up, which happened in the official box score for the game only once, with 15:05 left in the second half. 

While in the middle of answering a question, he shouted: ‘Pull it! Sorry… pull it! Shoot it! Oh, good pass! Catch the f***in ball man! That’s why you shoot it!’ as he balanced fascination with his son’s game and media responsibilities.

His son Bronny, a guard for USC, was playing for his college against Arizona on Wednesday

And with every fatherly yelp, more of James’ Lakers teammates and reporters turned to also watch USC play, while still holding a microphone in front of the first-ballot Hall of Famer.

‘As long as we make shots for him, then teams will stop doubling him,’ LeBron said about teammate Anthony Davis. ‘So it’s our job to make sure we’re in the right position… shoot it!’ 

The younger James is a freshman at USC, playing a significant role for the Trojans after a cardiac arrest incident last July, which stemmed from a congenital heart defect. 

Rumors have swirled for years about a James family team-up in the NBA, as a father-and-son duo have never competed on the court in a official capacity together. 

LeBron has been vocal about his desires to play with his son professionally. 

The James family could be in the NBA together next season, with LeBron turning 40 in 2024

There’s a small window for that opportunity to take place, as LeBron turned 39 last month, while Bronny is 19. 

The younger James is eligible to enter the NBA Draft this summer, but has yet to announce his intention to do so, no matter how expected the move is from the Trojans’ guard. 

The James’ duo do not have game times that overlap again until January 27, when the Lakers play the Warriors and USC hosts rival UCLA.