Bronny James’ path to the NBA came with a challenge unlike those faced by most aspiring players. As LeBron James’ son, he grew up under a microscope, and the fact that his father never hid his desire to one day play alongside him only made things complex.
Advertisement
Does Bronny get the benefit of favoritism? Perhaps. After all, it can’t simply be a coincidence that the Lakers drafted LeBron’s son just because they thought he would be a good fit. Recently, when the Lakers sent Dalton Knecht down to the G-League, many were left astounded. Needless to say, comparisons with Bronny started doing the rounds again.
Knecht was selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft at No. 17. Bronny, on the other hand, was No. 55 in Round 2.
“No disrespect to Bronny, but like, Knecht was a 1st round pick,” said Jeff Teague on the Club 520 podcast. It was an argument that the majority of the NBA community would second.
Teague also insisted that the Lakers ought to move on from Knecht if they don’t like him. “Like, give that man a chance,” he said.
Jeff Teague wants to know why Dalton Knecht is in the G League instead of Bronny James
“No disrespect to Bronny but like, Knecht was a 1st round pick”
(Via @club520podcast) pic.twitter.com/BHXzS0epUl
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 17, 2025
The question is: why is Bronny not balling for the South Bay Lakers? He has been making G-League appearances, though. He was assigned to Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate as recently as November 20.
Bronny’s performances for South Bay have been fairly modest. He is averaging around 10 points per game and has not made much of an impression on the assists or rebounds front either.
Not everyone is destined to compete with the likes of LeBron in the NBA. And it should be okay for Bronny to be where he is at the moment. He can continue to work hard and carve out a role on an NBA roster.
Teague’s criticism of Bronny’s G-League stint, however, felt unfair. After all, Bronny did report there and put in the minutes.
It is also not a big surprise that Teague took shots at Bronny while showcasing his support for Knecht. He has never been a fan of Bronny and openly admitted in an interview last year that he dislikes the father-son dynamic on the court and believes Bronny simply is not that good at basketball.
