The landscape of grassroots basketball has changed drastically throughout the years. Athletes hold more power than ever, which can impact their development negatively. In most instances, parents enforce their will over their children’s lives in an attempt to ensure the highest probability of success. LeBron James and Steve Nash aren’t fans of how overprotective parenting is hindering the basketball development of these children.
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Nash and James released the first episode of season 2 of their Mind the Game podcast. The two extraordinary basketball minds spoke on various topics surrounding the game. One of the more pressing issues they discussed revolved around parents’ reluctance to allow their children to experience adversity.
The Suns legend is a prime example of the positives that can come from a tough environment. Nash revealed that if he were to pursue a career in this current youth landscape, he most likely wouldn’t have made the NBA.
“My generation of parenting, we protect our kids too much,” Nash said. “You got to let them fail a little bit. I would’ve never made the league if it wasn’t for my high school coach, my college coach being hard as hell on me.”
LeBron wholeheartedly agreed with Nash’s sentiment by speaking on how kids respond to adversity in the AAU scene. “If they don’t like it there, they go somewhere else.” This way of pursuing their basketball dreams leaves them fragile, since they haven’t experienced hardship.
James is a big advocate of allowing your children to face their challenges and improve. That is exactly what he did with Bronny, and he’s witnessing the outcome of it.
James has let Bronny work through adversity himself
LeBron had all the power to dictate Bronny’s life in many different aspects. Instead, he let Bronny make key decisions for himself, and it paid out tremendously, as the 20-year-old is now teammates with his father on the Lakers.
Bronny spent all four years of his high school career at Sierra Canyon. He could’ve easily left to play at another school where he would be the star. The 6-foot-4 guard was a four-star prospect and never the best player on Sierra Canyon. However, he never let his ego get the best of him.
That mentality transferred to his rookie season in the NBA. James began his NBA career with great struggles in his efficiency and ability to stay on the court. However, he continued to work and has shown improved play, including a career-high 17 points against the Bucks on March 20.
More parents could learn a thing or two by taking a page out of Nash and James’ book.
