Stephen A. Smith has been quite vocal (shocker, I know!) in his criticism of Lakers rookie Bronny James this season, and of his dad LeBron, whom Stephen A. blames for selfishly putting his son in a situation that he’s not yet ready for. He put the Jameses on blast on First Take this morning for Bronny’s awful showing on Tuesday against the 76ers, and then came back for more on his podcast The Stephen A. Smith Show
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He coined the term “LeBron sensitivity” for the way James and those around him are so thin-skinned when it comes to being criticized.
“It’s gotten to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is beyond the pale. You call him the second-best player in the history of the game, you’re insulting him because you said he’s not the GOAT.”
“You’re saying that at age 40, we’ve never seen anybody do what he does, but pointing out at times how he may not have hustled back on defense in a key pivotal moment, and that’s a problem.”
Stephen A. called the entire situation ridiculous but said that nothing is more ridiculous than how even Bronny needs to be shielded from criticism. He pointed out that Bronny sharing the floor with his dad on Opening Night was “a phenomenal moment,” but Bronny isn’t NBA-ready, and that should have been the last time he stepped on an NBA court this season.
“I’m not here to tell you that he won’t be ready. I’m not here to tell you that he won’t be an NBA player. I’m not here to tell you that he should give up his dreams and his aspirations.”
“I think the kid’s got potential. I think the kid will be in the NBA one day. I watched him in the G League doing his thing. I think he’s going to be fine, eventually. But that’s not the case yet.”
Bronny James needs time to develop
Bronny has steadily improved as the G League season has gone on, but his development has been limited by constantly shuttling from there to the NBA. Put the last name aside and you have a guy that played less than one year in college and didn’t do anything especially noteworthy even then.
He wasn’t drafted until the second round, with the 55th overall pick. Those kinds of players are projects that need time to develop, and Stephen A. is right to call out LeBron for rushing his son’s timeline.
Here are the facts about what Bronny has done when given minutes in the NBA. Before Tuesday he had never played more than five minutes in an NBA game. He’d been relegated to mop-up duty in his previous 11 games, totaling just 29 minutes played on the season.
Surprisingly, he played 15 minutes on Tuesday in Philly, and it was not a good look. Bronny missed all five shots he attempted in the game. He turned it over three times, and he got torched repeatedly by Tyrese Maxey, who ended up leading all scorers with 43 points.
This game made it clear that Bronny, who in all fairness has been playing well in the G League, isn’t yet ready for the NBA. Even Lakers head coach JJ Redick felt compelled to apologize after the game for putting him in a difficult situation that he wasn’t ready for.
Playing in the G League is the best thing Bronny can be doing right now. The Lakers aren’t the Wizards. They’re fighting for the playoffs, which means they can’t be giving minutes or even a bench spot to someone who isn’t ready to contribute toward that goal. LeBron, who’s made it clear how much a fifth ring would mean to him, should know that better than anybody.
If Bronny is ever going to become a productive NBA player, he needs to get on the court and figure his game out, and the only place where that should happen is in the G League. If he’s stuck wasting away on the Lakers bench, or worse yet, getting in the game and getting exposed, then Stephen A.’s criticism is warranted and valid.
