thoughts on bronny james
bruh why am i writing about lebron james’ son, not even about the Warriors or Stephen Curry 😭
I’m conflicted on Bronny James. As a Warriors fan, I’m obligated to dislike his father, Lebron James. I definitely am not a fan of him but I respect his impact on the game of basketball and his dedication to positively impact whatever team he’s on. The main reason why I dislike Lebron is because of his cockiness and ego — like yes, he’s a good basketball player but I think it’s very egotistical of him to deem himself “The King” when there are loads of great basketball players throughout history.
To be fair, I haven’t watched Bronny play too much except for the occasional highlight post/reel that pops up on my Instagram feed. However, I’ve never been impressed by any of his highlights (I think one of his highlights during his first NBA summer league game was an easy steal and pass 💀).
He was selected 55th overall in the second round of the NBA 2024 draft. Did he deserve to be drafted? No, and here are my reasons and thoughts circulating him.
What are the odds that he gets drafted AND to the Lakers, the same team his father is on?
Bronny is barely 6’2”. That’s considered extremely short in the NBA. In Stephen Curry’s scouting report, coaches said that he’d be unlikely to find success in the league because of his height, mind you Curry is 6’3”. The fact that the Lakers ended up drafting him is extremely suspicious to me… the nepotism at hand is CRAZY.
Bronny was not the star player at USC.
During the 25 games he played during his freshman season (typically 35-40 games per season), he only averaged 4.8 points per game. He also only started in six of those games. Usually, a player can make up for less PPG by contributing to other stats like rebounds or assists but he only averaged 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Numbers don’t lie…
He had a cardiac arrest, he deserves some slack.
Yes, it’s unfortunate that incident happened to him. However, it’s a bit suspicious to me because Bronny is young, incredibly fit, and healthy with access to the best trainers and doctors available. The timing of his cardiac arrest was also strange since it was right before the start of the college season and there were no instances of heart failure in the past. I’m aware that heart problems do randomly occur for some people but these are just some factors I’m wary about. Was this a planned accident to get the media less focused on his success in the upcoming season and draft? Who knows…
How did he go from being hesitant on staying at USC/playing in college basketball to enrolling in the NBA draft?
For any other NBA prospect, there is absolutely NO WAY they would get drafted with Bronny’s stats and caliber. He was considering transferring colleges but then somehow made it to the draft? Additionally, rookies are rarely paid millions when drafted but he signed a $7.9 million contract across 4 years. HE HAS NEVER EVEN PLAYED FOR THEM, he has proved none of his skills to the team yet. He definitely improved leading up to the draft combine but still not up to par to other players. Yes, his jersey and position on the team will bring in lots of revenue which the NBA ultimately is, a business, but please…
All in all, I think it’s incredibly unfair that Bronny was drafted when there were so many other players who have equally worked as hard (arguably more to be honest) to get to that position as he did. At the same time, I feel bad for Bronny because he has an immense amount of pressure on him, being the firstborn son of “The King”. I kind of feel bad for him because he’s getting more scrutinized than others but at the same time, he was cocky enough to only accept workouts from 3 teams… I wish him the best in his career, with such a low bar he’s setting, he’s sure to beat the odds.
Ironically enough, he already got injured after one game. I feel like most of this is Lebron’s doing since he’s a stats-chaser and wants them to be the first active father-son duo in the NBA but I don’t know — doesn’t it feel unsettling knowing that what you achieved wasn’t rightfully deserved? But then again, money can buy happiness, or in this case, a career lol.