LeBron James vowed to always “be right beside” his oldest son as Bronny ventures into adulthood

Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty

LeBron James is celebrating son Bronny on a very special day.

On Thursday, the oldest of the Lakers star’s children with wife Savannah James turned 18 years old and was honored by his dad in a heartfelt Instagram post.

“How is this kid 18 years old today y’all!!??!! I can’t deal with it. 🥺🥺,” the NBA dad wrote.”I’m so proud of the young man you’ve become kid!”

“Continue to be YOU throughout your journey because it’s simply better that way!” LeBron continued, promising to “be right beside you whenever/however needed!”

Savannah also posted on Instagram honoring her baby boy. “Happy 18th Birthday to my first baby boy!!! 🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤,” she wrote, adding “I’m so proud of the man you have become, and I look forward to seeing you thrive and be great in the future!!!”

In addition to Bronny, LeBron and Savannah also share daughter Zhuri, 7, and son Bryce, 15.

Appearing in a photo shoot for Vanity Fair‘s October issue, the family of five dressed to the nines as they posed for the outlet in their Los Angeles home.

Savannah, LeBron’s wife of nine years and partner of 20 years, celebrated her “dope family,” with the outlet, which includes her parents, Jennifer and JK, and LeBron’s mother, Gloria.

“Everything isn’t for everybody,” she said of their low-key family dynamic, adding, “Excuse my language, but we a dope family.”

Speaking of Bronny, Savannah noted that this stage of his upbringing is about “getting to a place to start to make decisions about his career and where he wants to go in his life.”

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty

The four-time NBA champion, 37, shouted out Bronny’s talent on the basketball court on social media in August, reacting to a one-handed dunk the teen made on the AXE Euro Tour, where he was playing for the California Basketball Club.

“OH MY GOODNESS BRONNY!!!!!,” LeBron wrote on Twitter along with ten shocked-face emojis after his oldest son scored against the U18 French Select team.

“Sheeesh!!!” commented Stephen Curry.

A side-by-side video of the Lakers player and his oldest son making similar dunks was later posted on ESPN’s Instagram, where commenters agreed that the resemblance between the father and son’s styles of play was striking.