On Day 2 of the 2024 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers picked Bronny James with the 55th pick, presumably uniting him with his father LeBron James, who’s yet to sign a new contract with the franchise. The duo joining forces has split the basketball fraternity. Many are excited to see them play together, while others have accused LeBron of nepotism. Both sides have fair points, but Kevin Garnett discarded the latter.
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The Hall of Famer shared a video featuring Stephen Jackson on his Instagram stories, where the former Golden State Warriors lauded LeBron for using his privilege. He argued that white players and coaches have managed to get their sons drafted into the league when they didn’t deserve it. However, there were no complaints about nepotism then. He said,
“Black privilege. I’m all for it. Shoutout to Bron and Bronny We’ve seen so much white privilege for so long, it’s good to see some black privilege. I’m all for it… George Karl did it. It’s been done for a long time. But y’all complain about it with Bron getting his hands on it… So many of us wasn’t able to do it our way for so long. Y’all got to salute the real ones who are doing it their way.”
Garnett seconded Jackson’s take and wrote, “To the James family, congratulations! Bronny, you got this, King! Keep chasing. Keep getting better!”
KG shares Stephen Jackson’s take on LeBron and Bronny pic.twitter.com/dZQVW0FhVE
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) June 30, 2024
The case against Bronny getting a roster spot hinges on his underwhelming numbers in college. The USC guard averaged only 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes off the bench in his sole season with the program. However, Garnett believes that his playstyle would translate better in the NBA.
Kevin Garnett is confident that Bronny James will be a star in the NBA
The Boston Celtics icon has vehemently defended Bronny since reports emerged that he’d declare for the draft after only one year with USC. He argued that the young guard’s detractors are short-sighted and used Kobe Bryant as an example to make his point. On KG Certified, Garnett said,
“If I am a team bro, I would actually take a chance on that. Because greatness runs through bro’s veins. You got to know at some point, he’s going to have a growth spurt and it’s going to click… If you go back and look at Kob’ in the draft, Kob was 18. Kobe won the McDonald’s MVP. Some argue that the other guys, Tim Thomas was arguably better whatever, however, whoever… I’m not calling him young Kobe or none of that but I’m saying potential.”
But not many share the same optimism about Bronny’s future as Garnett. Most feel that the young guard would ride his father LeBron James’ coattails until the four-time MVP is in the league and will find it difficult to find a roster spot post his retirement. Only time will tell whether the Celtics icon has the last laugh or Bronny’s critics are proven right.
