Bronny James Playing With LeBron Prompts Flurry of Memes, Jokes About How Much He's Grown

LeBron James' work ethic has been a key aspect of his stellar career. Few players in the NBA put as much effort on their fitness as James has done in his 16 seasons in the league, as evidenced by the fact he remains in almost peak condition even at 35 years of age.

If James' latest Instagram post is anything to go by, his son LeBron James Jr., also known as Bronny, has already embraced the same philosophy. The four-time NBA champion shared a series of pictures showing him working out alongside his son, who looks nothing like a teenager and increasingly resembles his father.

Bronny's school lists him at 6-foot-2-inches and 176 pounds, but the 16-year-old looks far taller and bigger than that. In the picture, he looks only marginally shorter than his father, who is 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds.

Bronny's impressive physical development turned heads on Twitter. CBS Sports compared him with a picture of his father at the same age, while other users pointed out he looked like a grown man instead of a teenager one year into his high school career.

James, who won his fourth NBA title last month when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to their first championship in 10 years, has previously spoken of his desire to play alongside his son.

"You want to ask me what is the greatest achievement of my life," James said in a 2018 interview with Uninterrupted.

"If I'm on the same court as my son in the NBA. That would be No. 1 in my lifetime as an NBA player. I've thought about it because my son is about to be 14, and he might be able to get in there a little earlier."

Danny Green, James' teammate on the Lakers team that won the NBA title this season, told Forbes last month that whether LeBron will get to play with his son may depend on his desire to remain at the top of his game.

"I don't know if his body will hold up for another three years," said the three-time NBA champion, who was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder last week.

"I don't think he wants to play in the NBA and not be able to play at the level that he's playing at right now.

"And I think three years from now it will be tough. The way he's going, I would assume most people are a shell of themselves 20 years later. But I'm sure he would love to play with Bronny."

If James is to achieve his dream, his training regime will have to remain relentless for another few years as he will be 39 by the time Bronny graduates from Sierra Canyon High School, California, in 2023.

LeBron, however, could have to wait longer as the NBA currently prevents high school players from turning professional, as James himself did when he went straight from St. Vincent-St.Mary High School in Akron to the number one overall pick of the NBA draft in 2003.

Two years later, then-NBA commissioner David Stern created an age limit for players wanting to enter the league. A player has to be 19 years old or one year removed from his high school class graduation to be drafted.

Speaking in April, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress suggested the conversation of abolishing the rule had "stalled" and no change was on the horizon for the foreseeable future.