Every year, 60 players get drafted into the NBA. Of those players, only the top few are expected to be great. This year, though, the 55th pick is feeling all the pressure. His name is LeBron “Bronny” James Jr.
Drafted sixth-to-last by the Los Angeles Lakers in June, Bronny’s road to the NBA was certainly different than the average rookie. Named after his father, LeBron James, Bronny was destined for greatness since day one.
Bronny has been great at basketball his whole life. Charged name aside, he earned his spot to play Division I at the University of Southern California in 2023.
However, after averaging only 4.8 points on 36.6% field goal percentage and 26.7% from three in his 25 games as a Trojan, declaring for the draft would’ve been a dumb idea for anyone else.
Bronny also unfortunately suffered a cardiac arrest during a college practice. Although he fully recovered, its addition to his resume should’ve tanked his stock as a potential professional player.
To make matters worse, Bronny is a 6’2” shooting guard, far below the league average of 6’4.5”. In the NBA, height is everything, and two and a half inches make a huge difference.
But despite all this, Bronny was drafted, beating out players like Trey Alexander, who went undrafted after averaging 17.6 points to go along with 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his most recent season at Division I school Creighton.
This is a prime example of nepotism — and it’s all thanks to current Laker, arguably the greatest NBA player of all time, and his father, LeBron James.
So far, we’ve only seen Bronny play against NBA talent in this year’s Summer League, where he averaged 8.8 points on below average shooting splits. Efficiency is one of the most crucial steps in the jump from college hoops to the NBA.
To be fair, the Lakers picking Bronny isn’t purely nepotism, it’s also a business decision — but a bad one. Yes, he’ll sell tickets and up TV ratings for his first few games. After all, who doesn’t want to see the GOAT play with his son? But immediately after, his lack of NBA talent will show and the hype will die down, leaving the Lakers with a player who won’t help them compete.
Bronny could be a fine role player with some years of development in college, the G-league, or overseas. But by no means should he take a roster spot now, especially when a more talented college player could’ve taken it.
Not only is Bronny taking another’s spot, but he’s also distracting his dad, who happens to be the Lakers’ best player. After LeBron’s first practice with Bronny, he admitted to losing focus multiple times, focusing on his son instead of what was going on.
If Bronny hinders his dad’s abilities on the court, he could be detrimental to the team. Perhaps another team should add him to the roster to distract LeBron — it might be the first decent attempt to stop the man in his 21-year career.
Maybe one day, Bronny will be a solid NBA player. But for now, he’ll prove to be a disastrous pick and a crack to the integrity of the league we all love.
