There’s no secret LeBron James is 41 years old. One of the NBA’s greatest players of all-time continues to play at an extremely high level, setting a new record literally every time he suits up for his next game. The seemingly ageless wonder made his return from a three-game absence on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls, from hip, foot, and elbow injuries.
The Los Angeles Lakers handled their business, taking down the Bulls, at home, 142-130. While Luka Doncic was the main focus of this one, scoring a new Lakers career-high with 51 points, James stole the spotlight with his athleticism, “for an old man”, once again.
Bronny James Pokes Fun Following Dad’s Impressive Dunk vs. Bulls
At one point in the game, James found himself with the ball streaking down the lane from the top of the key. He made a clear path to the basket, rising, and flushing down an emphatic dunk over Bulls defenders. While most cameras were focused on James throwing it down, one camera found Bronny James, providing his instant reaction from the bench, presumably trolling his dad as well as the Bulls.
(Bronny) James could be seen holding up both hands, in the form of a “41”. From the camera angle provided to the public, it’s difficult to say definitively if he was aiming his dad’s age at the Bulls players on the court, the Bulls bench, or at dear old dad. Either way, the world took notice, as this video has been viewed approximately 100,000 times across X. The original video was posted by Lakers All Day Everyday on X (@LADEig).
BRONNY REMINDED THE BULLS HOW OLD HIS DAD IS AFTER THE DUNK 😂 pic.twitter.com/bln2nHUWmd
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 13, 2026
While parts of James’ record-breaking season No. 23 has been marred by injury, he continues to knock-off all-time NBA records seemingly every time he plays. His most recent historic accomplishment, earlier this week, was the passing of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field-goals made in NBA history.
In James’ return from injury, he dropped 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block in 33 minutes played. While James looked his usual self, playing an efficient game during the Lakers forty-first win on the season, he was the fourth leading-scorer for the Lakers on Thursday night.
Doncic dropped 51 points on 17-for-31 shooting from the field, adding 10 rebounds, and nine assists while also making nine 3-pointers. Austin Reaves scored 30 points on 13-for-20 shooting from the field, and Deandre Ayton added an extremely efficient 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field adding 10 rebounds, tallying his twentieth double-double on the season.
While (Bronny) James had time to troll his dad, and the Bulls, he did not make an official appearance in this contest. The younger James rode the bench for the entirety of Thursday’s win after helping lead the G-League, South Bay Lakers to victory on Wednesday night.
As for the older James, the world will see if he’s healthy enough to suit up for the Lakers next game when they take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EDT on ABC. The Lakers currently sit in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings with a record of 41-25, just 0.5 games ahead of the Nuggets and Houston Rockets.