The Claim: 20-year-old Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Bronny James is willing to take a pay cut. 

Bronny James is currently preparing for his second NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has three years left on his current deal, which was signed when the Lakers drafted him at 55 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. As per Spotrac, he will make $7,895,796 over four seasons, with $$1,955,377 being his on-court earnings for the 2025-26 season. 

On the Fourth of July, an account put out a post indicating that the youngster is willing to take a salary cut. The tweet featured an image of Bronny James clad in a white number 9 Lakers jersey with his hands on his hips. 

It was captioned, “Bronny James reportedly told the Lakers he’s “willing to take a pay cut.” The post was attributed to Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes). On Facebook, ChampHoops went with the same post and attributed the same to “(Via ChrisBHayne).”

Our Rating: False

First: The account credited in the tweet has been inactive in posts and reposts since 2022. Second: The original account is titled NBA Centel, which, as per its bio, specifies that it is a “PARODY ACCOUNT. Not affiliated with @TheDunkCentral.”

Bronny James is not among the top 10 earners for 2025, per both Spotrac and BasketballReference. His annual takeaways are a pittance before the likes of his father, LeBron James ($52,627,153), Luka Doncic ($45,999,660), and Rai Hachimura ($18,259,259). NBA Centel’s claim has also been refuted by the likes of The Sporting News. 

NBA Centel has put out parody posts on other prominent NBA names

NBA Centel has put out parody posts that have had the NBA world stunned for a few seconds. Cases in point include their tweet from when they claimed LeBron James had announced his retirement.

The account even made it to broadcaster Colin Cowherd’s show, where he used a parody post as a hard fact. The NBA Centel account took credit for the same, writing, “I saw a story where they won’t let Luka jerseys in the building in Dallas. Colin Cowherd got CENTEL’D.”

NBA superstar Kevin Durant has called out the account multiple times (Twitter, Twitter) and followers who believe it is genuine, showing that the NBA world is upping its game. Yet the account remains active, with many prominent names mourning its ban in February 2025. 

Our Fact Check Sources

• NBACentel, July 4, 2025. Twitter
• ChampHoops, July 5, 2025, Facebook
• Bronny James, Spotrac
• Los Angeles Lakers 2025-26 Cap Table, Spotrac
• Los Angeles Lakers Team Payroll, Basketball Reference
• SportingNews, July 4, 2025, Did Bronny James ask for a Lakers pay cut? Explaining post about LeBron’s son’s contract in Los Angeles
• NBA Centel, February 25, 2025. Twitter
• NBA Centel, December 13, 2024. Twitter
• Kevin Durant, October 14, 2024. Twitter
• Kevin Durant, March 31, 2024. Twitter