As the son of LeBron James, the word ‘pressure’ has been omnipresent throughout Bronny James’ hoops career. But the 19-year-old has proven that he can rise over dire circumstances to realize his NBA dream. Despite showcasing great perseverance, experts have questioned whether he would be able to hold his own while sharing the hardwood with his dad LeBron James. Gilbert Arenas does think so.
Advertisement
The 3x All-Star believes that playing alongside his father is the best scenario for Bronny. Recently on Gil’s Arena, Arenas got into a debate with Rashad McCants about whether Bronny James has earned his NBA roster spot.
For McCants, Bronny got a Lakers roster spot just because he is the son of a billionaire. He downplayed Bronny’s draft prospects and believed that the 19-year-old’s second-round selection had nepotism written all over it. For him, two wrongs don’t make a right.
McCants stated,
”Whatever side you do it [nepotism] on, somebody is gonna get left out of the pot anyway. There’s gonna be that one guy who deserved it, who not gonna get it because dad is a billionaire, the son can get the spot.”
Then McCants added that the Lakers selected him as a low draft pick so there won’t be too much pressure of expectations on him. Meanwhile, Arenas argued that even if Bronny James didn’t get drafted, he would have still locked in a Lakers roster spot through a two-way deal. Therefore, the pressure element can’t be traced back to him being drafted late in the second round.
“That’s the problem. It’s the 55th pick. Will there still be pressure if he came to training camp and signed a two-year deal with training camp, because that was going to happen anyway. No matter what we say he was gonna be on the team.”
Arenas believed that Bronny will not be under any kind of excess pressure because of his new stint. Moreover, LeBron will be there to guide him on the court. The Gil’s Arena crew argued that Bronny is already accustomed to a level of pressure to perform because his father would visit his games regularly in high school and college.
As McCants went on another rant about the privileges surrounding Bronny James, the crew wondered how many games Bronny would play alongside his dad. Arenas said that while he may not be a regular rotation player, Bronny could get in some playing time during blowouts. Overall, he predicted him to feature in 10-20 games..
Later, the crew debated whether Bronny should have been in college for at least one more year to become more NBA ready. Arenas argued that playing in NBA is better for him, because he would be learning from top-level hoopers who could teach him how to thrive at the pro-level. Thanks to his father, Bronny James would also have the best resources around him to develop his game.
Arenas added, “Instead of going against some backup point guard that you’re going to be, who probably won’t make it to the NBA, versus playing against D’Lo everyday in practise, Gabe Vincent everyday in practise. Now you’re learnin’ how to lift, you’re leanin’ how to be a pro, now learnin’ how to watch film, just the knowledge itself.”
For Arenas, these factors would muffle different types of turbulences that Bronny would go through. Having a familiar face in LeBron James would re-assure him and since he will have daily access to the Lakers athletes, he would have the opportunity to become a better pro, which would bolster his confidence in the long-run.
