The Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to select Bronny James in the NBA draft has paved the way for heated debates. Many believe that just because he is LeBron James’ son, he got the opportunity to play in the league. Expressing his thoughts on the issue, ESPN’s Domonique Foxworth heatedly debated the rookie’s draft selection with FS1’s Nick Wright.
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On his The Domonique Foxworth Show, the ESPN analyst stated that we should neither deride nor celebrate Bronny’s entry into his father’s team. He added that people are making a big deal of the nepotism angle,
“It frankly doesn’t like a whole big thing to get upset about or even like.. To celebrate, like I don’t care, cool! Bronny made the roster, maybe he could be a player, maybe not.”
Nick Wright countered this statement by stating that people are not celebrating Bronny’s selection because he is LBJ’s son. The celebration has more to do with his journey. He observed people resonate with his comeback story because just merely a year ago, he had suffered a horrible cardiac arrest ordeal.
Wright recalled how Bronny was a top-30 elite high-school hooper and showed his long-range talent during the All-American’s McDonald’s Game in 2023. He also highlighted how the rookie had some impressive numbers during the NBA Draft Combine Drills. Overall, the 39-year-old argued that Bronny made the Lakers’ roster because of his promising skillset,
“It has been just a memory hold when 10 and a half months ago this kid was a top-30 recruit in his class, his heart stopped on the practice and they thought he might die and they thought he might never play again… You have a player who was an elite high school player..”
Wright wondered if people would be outraged with Stephen Curry’s six-year-old son, Canon Curry’s selection by the Golden State Warriors, 10 years or so down the line. He accused the critics of being selective in LBJ’s case,
“If Canon is a fringe draftable player, and the Warriors draft him. Do you think that would be met by any vitriol whatsoever or would it be like holy bleep that’s so cool?”
Foxworth admitted this was a solid argument but accused the host of misconstruing the context. He argued that Steph isn’t a polarizing personality like LBJ and doesn’t exert undue influence as a franchise face, that is why the decisions around them are perceived differently.
This example alludes to various ways the Bronny James-Lakers link-up has been perceived. Therefore, when the 19-year-old polished his game with the LA Lakers’ G-League affiliate, South Bay Lakers, even the top analysts would show interest in some G-League games.
