LeBron James talks about his bond with idol Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan went from being LeBron James’ childhood hero to now, in the later years of his Hall of Fame career, the basketball figure James’ achievements are most often compared to.

James talked about his current relationship with Jordan during a long interview on “The Pat McAfee Show,” which aired on Wednesday.

While James said their relationship is in “a good spot,” he admitted that they aren’t in regular contact.

“We don’t talk,” James shared during the 75-minute interview, which was filmed at McAfee’s studio near Indianapolis on Tuesday. “Because I’m still playing. I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now.”

James replied, “I would hope so,” when asked if he thought a connection could grow between him and Jordan after James retires, similar to how his relationship with Kobe Bryant became closer after Bryant ended his career.

“The funny thing is, me and Kobe — the late, great Kobe, obviously — me and Kobe never had a real relationship either,” James explained. “We were on the [USA] Olympic team, we had a great relationship there.

The Olympic team in ’08, the Olympic team in ’12, but it was always competitive between us. We were always like, I was on the East Coast, he was on the West Coast, and it was like even though … in ’09 and we didn’t beat Orlando and didn’t get an opportunity to play him in the Finals [there was a competitive tension].”

James said that their relationship started to change in 2016 when Bryant retired, and it grew stronger after James joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 as a free agent.

Their Relationship was Good

“That’s when our relationship became really, really good,” James said. “He welcomed me. He called me, like, ‘Bro, anything you need in L.A., I got you. You’re a Laker now. You’re family.’ And we would have multiple conversations. Obviously, you guys saw him coming to a lot of games.

And when I passed him for the scoring record in Philly, he had a tweet out there like, ‘Keep on going.’ Like, ‘Keep transcending the game. Keep going.’ And that meant so much to me.”

James and Jordan did share a meaningful moment during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, where they embraced at halftime when the league celebrated its 75th Anniversary Team.

“That was dope,” James said. “That’s straight respect, admiration and me, for sure, I wear 23 because of MJ. And the inspiration that he gave me as a kid in Akron, Ohio, who doesn’t have much inspiration in your hometown.”

However, as long as James, 40, is still playing and continuing to build his legacy to be compared to Jordan — a six-time champion, five-time MVP, and 10-time scoring champion — he doesn’t expect his relationship with the 62-year-old Jordan to change.

“I think it’s because I’m still playing,” James said. “And MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don’t know him personally, he is one of the most ruthless competitors there is and until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me running up and down wearing the No. 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his, [a relationship will have to wait].”

James also spoke with McAfee about how his son, Bronny James, has progressed during his rookie season with the Lakers.

“For me as a dad, it doesn’t matter if he never scores, ever. For me as a dad, I’m just super proud of him, period, as a young man. For me as a mentor and as a teammate of his who wants to see him thrive because I have seen the work he’s put into the game, I am super proud of his development to where he is now,” James said. “From the moment that he was drafted … to now … his development has skyrocketed.”

Selection of Bronny James

Bronny, who was selected by the Lakers with the No. 55 pick in the second round after his freshman season at USC, scored a season-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting for the Lakers last week. He followed that up by scoring 39 points on 14-for-21 shooting Monday for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League team.

“Super proud of Bronny,” James said. “Super proud of his game and where he is today, starting off the G League season with just trying to figure it out and now, 39 [points] and even when I talked to him, he was more upset about the technical free throw he missed than anything.

He was like, ‘I could have had a 40 ball, and I missed that damn technical free throw.’ So, the kid, he’s awesome.”

This is a big change from where Bronny was in October when he made his debut for the Lakers on opening night in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That debut came less than a year and a half after he suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect, which needed corrective surgery.

“Us going out on the floor and having that moment, physically I wasn’t even there,” James said. “I wasn’t even there. I’m floating. I could only imagine where Bronny was. We haven’t even talked about it yet. At some point we will. But I wasn’t even there.

I was so [overjoyed], I might have been in the rafters. I might have been at home — my body might have been at home watching the game and watching the moment. I completely was not there.

“But, damn, that was an unbelievable moment, man, for me to be able to have that dream, be able to speak it into existence, for it to come to fruition. For my mom and my wife and my daughter and my youngest son to be there, I started thinking about everything from what the hell he went through less than a year before with his cardiac arrest.”

James’ younger son, 17-year-old Bryce, recently won a state championship during his senior season with Sierra Canyon and is committed to play basketball for the University of Arizona in the fall. James, who is in his 22nd season, was asked if he could see himself staying in the NBA long enough to play alongside both of his sons.

“Don’t do that to me,” James said with a smile.