Is That LeBron James' Son In The Crypto.com Commercial?
Wouldn't it be nice to go back in time and talk with your younger self? This is the fulcrum on which the latest crypto.com commercial pivots, and it sees the legendary basketball player LeBron James seemingly speaking with a much younger version of himself. In the Super Bowl commercial, a 19-year-old LeBron questions his present self in what appears to be his childhood bedroom, judging by the decor, CDs, and general memorabilia from that era in time. The younger LeBron is amazed at what the future may hold in terms of technology, but he also has questions regarding his future in the National Basketball Association.
The advertisement goes on to show the younger LeBron asking if they can handle all of the pressure and hype surrounding the mythical status of the basketball player they are to become, and the older version of LeBron tells the younger that he can't tell him everything, but adds that if he wants to make history, he has to make his own shots. This could be taken as a reference to the cryptocurrency market, which is a newly created financial system involving blockchain technology (via Investopedia) — for future speculators, bold actions are required, and there is little history and advice to currently offer for the fledgling alternative currency, unlike the pointers LeBron provides to himself.
While we all know how his career turned out, with LeBron having been compared to the likes of titanic NBA figurehead Michael Jordan (via The Ringer), some viewers may find themselves asking who plays the younger version of LeBron in the commercial — is it LeBron's son?
LeBron James' son does not appear in the commercial
LeBron James has three kids: Bryce Maximus, LeBron Jr., and Zhuri Nova (via CNN). LeBron Jr., aka Bronny, is currently a high school junior and has tremendous potential on the court like his father (via 247Sports), which is likely why some viewers may have thought it was him in the aforementioned commercial. However, LeBron's son does not appear in the crypto.com commercial. The younger version of LeBron is actually a computer-generated image of the basketball player. However, this iteration of LeBron is not a 100% creation of CGI, and the actor who lent his body for the motion capture stand-in is Bentley Green, a young actor who has appeared in "Caged Birds," "Snowfall," and the upcoming "61st Street" (via IMDb).
To illustrate how the crypto.com Super Bowl commercial was created, crypto.com released a behind-the-scenes feature highlighting the technology and thought process behind its creation. Within the featurette, Green is asked what it is like to play a young LeBron, to which the actor replied, "It's me playing my idol. I'm speechless. He the GOAT."
This BTS video highlights one of the key aspects of the commercial, and is explained by crypto.com Creative Director Ben Lay, who said, "You know, at its core, this really is a story about all of us. We've all had to make these big courageous decisions that affect our future. The only difference is, you know, we didn't have millions of people watching on."