I feel like I can’t be the only one who is bothered by this Bronny James situation. And before the bronsexuals come for me, im not trying to hate on Lebron at all but this is a terrible decision and insulting to Bronny and everything he has worked for.
Bronny worked his whole life to get to the NBA and had a chance to do so on his own merit coming out of high school. Also I am not naive, and am aware that there was always a chance he would get to the NBA regardless of if it was on his own merit. However, he was a McDonald’s All-American and a USC commit with high expectations going into his freshman year. He survives the cardiac arrest which he suffered while practicing with his college teammates, never got a chance to get up to game speed because of it, returns to the court and struggles mightily on offense as a part of an overall disappointing season for USC. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, shooting 36% from the field and under 27% from 3 point range. Clearly not ready for the NBA, for likely a multitude of reasons, he declares anyway despite showing obvious signs that he was not ready, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Lakers decided to draft him, which I am sure had very little to do with basketball projections, and you would assume the decision is to obviously keep him down in the G-league and let him develop. Instead, they are creating theatrical moments for the benefit of the Lakers and Lebron, taking minutes from players who may be fighting for rotational minutes, and making a mockery of the draft pick itself.
If I am Bronny, I would want to be drafted based on my ability and the work that I had put in my entire life to make it to the NBA. I understand the aspirations and the dream is still brought to life, but as someone who was an athlete not that long ago, I would like to be respected for the work that I put in and the talent I put on display, rather than the name on the back of my jersey. Living in a shadow is not fun, and although it was a guarantee for his expectations to be weighted, they are currently making the start of his NBA career nothing more than a production for his dad in the twilight years of his career. Let the kid develop, let him earn his minutes like everybody else, and I am sure he will. I would love to see Bronny succeed, but this whole situation seems to illegitimize his stock as an actual NBA prospect and for now the narrative around him will just be similar to that of the little league coach’s son who stinks but gets to play shortstop every game.
