Austin Rivers Gives LeBron James' Son Bronny Advice on Life as a Famous NBA Son

Washington Wizards guard Austin Rivers knows something about growing up in the basketball world as the son of an NBA player, and he offered some advice for LeBron James’ son, LeBron James Jr.—who goes by Bronny.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Rivers stressed Bronny shouldn’t focus on living up to his father’s greatness and instead be himself. "I didn't focus on trying to be Doc," Rivers said. "I just tried to be myself."

The Duke product also said he knows Bronny is "the real deal" and has seen plenty of his highlights already.

Rivers was also complimentary of Bronny’s dunking skills after the eighth-grader threw down a jam off a pass to himself in warm-ups, calling it a surefire "10" when asked to rank it.

The idea of Bronny facing extensive pressure because he is LeBron’s son is nothing new, as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar himself admitted he regretted giving his son his namesake in a clip from his upcoming series The Shop, which will air on HBO.

With all due respect to Austin's father Doc, who was an All-Star guard for the Atlanta Hawks and also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs before becoming a successful head coach who won a title with the Boston Celtics, playing in LeBron James’ shadow is a different type of pressure.

He is a surefire Hall of Famer and already in discussions with Michael Jordan and others regarding who the best player in NBA history is despite the fact he is still playing. That is quite the standard to live up to for someone sharing his name.

For now, Bronny is throwing down dunks in warm-ups and impressing at a young age, but Rivers stressed it is important that he not dwell on attempting to live up to his father’s accomplishments and blaze his own path to success.