CLEVELAND, Ohio — As LeBron James walked into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Wednesday night, greeted by a rotating billboard outside the visitors’ locker room that featured a photo of him holding the 2016 NBA championship trophy, one specific thought occurred to him. crossed the mind. It’s the same for every return to Cleveland.

The impermanence of basketball.

“Every time I come here, I think, ‘OK, how many more times will this be for me in this building?’ It could only be a few more times. Maybe it’s just one more time now. I don’t know the answer,” James told Cleveland.com in a one-on-one conversation before boarding the team bus Wednesday night. “But I know I’m on the other side of the fence than the previous fence. I know I won’t have many more times to come here and play the game I love, so I don’t take it for granted.

LeBron is 39 years old. Two months away from turning 40. It’s Season 22. Over the summer, he and the Lakers agreed to a two-year, $101 million contract that includes a no-trade clause and a $52 million player option for 2025-2026. The deal keeps James with the Lakers until he turns 41 – if he plays through the end of the contract.

He has not officially announced when he will stop. I don’t know yet. But the countdown has begun, even though he’s still playing at a high level, leading all scorers with 26 points in Cleveland’s 134-110 victory.

That’s part of the reason why Wednesday night meant so much, why he tried to soak in the crowd’s reaction despite being angry at the Lakers’ play by the time the final tribute video was released. broadcast, why he savored every bite of his usual Swensons post-game meal. , without the banana shake because of the illness he has been fighting for a little over a week.

“Not like usual,” James said. “But I’m always happy to be there and then be able to contribute a little bit when I’m on the pitch. We spent many years here. We are part of this community. We have so many good times, not only on the field of this arena, but also a lot of good memories off the field, in this community. To have the mutual respect and love for what we’ve been able to accomplish over the years we’ve been here, it’s really humbling.

But there was an added layer of emotion to Wednesday night: seeing his oldest son, Bronny, play in the same arena James called home for 11 years, on the same floor where Bronny dribbled and shot after games as a kid , one with a practice room in the attic where Bronny played friendly runs while James and the Cavaliers were downstairs chasing an NBA title. An arena with unforgettable James family memories, about 35 miles north of where Bronny’s basketball journey began.

For the first three quarters, Bronny was a spectator. No surprise. He had only logged three minutes total up to that point – all during the team’s season opener on October 22, more of a ceremonial appearance so Bronny and Dad could become the very first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.

But around 8:30 of the fourth quarter, with the Cavs in firm control and cruising toward their fifth straight victory to open the season, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse echoed with chants of “We want Bronny.”

Minutes later, the 20-year-old, born at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, came off the Lakers bench and calmly walked toward the scorer’s table as the arena roared as if his father had just throw down a thunderous transition dunk. .

Then came another massive ovation with about two minutes left, as fans who stuck around long enough got to witness Bronny’s first NBA basket — a silky 14-foot jumper.

“It was just a dream come true for me,” Bronny said. “I was still in game mode when I shot, so I didn’t really notice it while I was playing. But yes, it felt good afterwards.

“It meant everything to have it happen here,” James added. “We didn’t plan it this way. It just happened. He had an opportunity in the first game and he somehow missed a 3 on the right wing that I gave him the assist for, but God works in mysterious ways.

At this point, LeBron has accomplished pretty much everything in his career.

Top scorer of all time. Champion several times. Perhaps the greatest player of all time. And now, in the first week of his 22nd season, he was able to take a few more steps: sharing the floor with his son and being there in person for those first points.

Aside from helping out on a Bronny bucket, what else is there for LeBron at this point?

Former teammate Tristan Thompson offered another possibility in a recent conversation with cleveland.com: extending his NBA career long enough to play with Bryce, a 17-year-old rising senior at Sierra Canyon who has already received offers from Ohio State and Duquesne.

Is this realistic? Has LeBron thought about it?

“Oh shit,” LeBron said with a laugh when cleveland.com brought up Thompson’s comments. “Bryce is a senior. I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see. That would be pretty cool. It’s all about my mind and then seeing how my body reacts over the next couple of years.

For now, LeBron is focused on the Lakers – soaking up these moments playing alongside Bronny, something LeBron mentioned was one of the last things he wanted to accomplish before hanging up his sneakers.

“It’s the greatest thing in the world,” LeBron said. “Kids always have these dreams when they’re very young, and as parents you just try to put them in a position, at some point throughout their life, that maybe that dream can become a reality if that’s what they do. want to do.

“He said from day one, his little brother said from day one, basketball is what they love and it’s what they want to do. Between me, Savannah and our friends and family, it was just for us to be their support, to give them advice, to give them the tools, to give them everything they need to be able to eventually achieve their goal where he can. become a reality.

“To see that he’s in the middle of his reality and his dream at the same time, it’s just super cool for a parent. And seeing what he does when the camera isn’t rolling is even more rewarding. The hard work he puts in every day to continue to improve in his chosen profession is very rewarding, very cool, very humbling. Super proud of him. Super proud of our children. Me and Savannah are very proud of Bronnie, Bryce and Zhuri. They are simply awesome.