Bronny James Criticism Blown Way Out of Proportion After NBA Draft
By Cem Yolbulan
Basketball fans and members of the media losing their minds about all things LeBron James is not a new phenomenon. Over his 21 years in the NBA, LeBron has heard it all. Now, with his son Bronny entering the NBA and being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night opened a whole new angle for the talking heads to attack the father-son duo.
Criticisms or negative evaluations of Bronny as a prospect are fair game. He didn't have a good season at USC and has to improve in a big way to become an impact player in the NBA. However, the attacks against LeBron, Bronny, and the Lakers organization are misplaced and getting out of hand.
Media Needs to Relax About Bronny James
still can’t believe either lebron thinks this is a good idea. and it’s embarrassing more ppl in my profession won’t call this the clown sh t that it is.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) June 27, 2024
but here we are.
First of all, the Lakers used the 55th-overall pick on Bronny. It's not like they gave up significant assets to bring Bronny in. Let's take a look at the last seven 55th-overall picks in order: Isaiah Wong, Gui Santos, Aaron Wiggins, Jay Scrubb, Kyle Guy, Arnoldas Kulboka, and Nigel Williams-Goss. Outside of Wiggins, there isn't a single rotation-level player there. In all likelihood, the Lakers were not going to find an NBA-level prospect there.
Now let's take a look at the Lakers' last five second-round picks:
Max Christie (35)
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (47)
Ivica Zubac (32)
Anthony Brown (34)
Ryan Kelly (48)
Only Zubac has become a quality NBA player out of that group.
Let's stop pretending that the Lakers could have gotten some amazing prospect instead of Bronny.
Plus, there is a chance Bronny will be a better NBA player than a lot of the players selected before him. Only a year ago, he was considered a consensus top-20 pick. He suffered a serious cardiac arrest that negatively impacted his collegiate career.
It's also not the first time sports teams bring family members to the same team. The Bucks have been employing Thanasis Antetokounmpo for years, the Cavs have Evan Mobley's older brother Isaiah on the roster, and Robin Lopez was a benchwarmer behind his more talented brother Brook on many occasions.
Bronny joining his father in Los Angeles and potentially playing on the same team as him is a cool moment. Let's enjoy this wholesome and historic moment instead of pretending to care about nepotism.
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