LeBron James‘ son Bronny‘s name was in the headlines this past week after ESPN took the University of Southern California guard off their 2024 NBA Mock Draft list and placed him in the 2025 draft class. The move implied that the network believes no NBA team would interested in drafting Bronny and he’d have to spend another year in college and perform well to get picked in the 2025 NBA draft.
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A college freshman spending another year at his alma mater to improve their odds of getting drafted isn’t a groundbreaking development. However, Bronny’s reclassification unsurprisingly went viral on social media. On the Gil’s Arena podcast, retired NBA star Gilbert Arenas explained that the young guard’s lineage will ensure he’s always under the microscope.
Arenas claimed that the name on the back comes with a target, which eventually creates pressure whether it be LeBron or Michael Jordan’s name.
“There’s gonna be pressure on him no matter what. Just like it was in middle school, just like it was in high school, and college he’s gonna have the name. So, there’s nothing that Bron can do to protect him because that attack is gonna come from all players who feel like, ‘His name is bigger than mine because of his name.'”
Bron has been open about his goal of playing alongside Bronny for the past few years. NBA teams know that drafting the young guard will likely result in James signing with them. Some critics have suggested that teams interested in signing the four-time NBA MVP wouldn’t mind spending a draft pick on Bronny, irrespective of the young guard’s ability.
James’ insistence on playing alongside his son has spawned an unfair prejudice about his potential. The Los Angeles Lakers cannot undo the damage, putting pressure on Bronny to prove he belongs in the NBA and wasn’t drafted only because of his father.
LeBron James claimed the Mock Draft ‘doesn’t matter’
LeBron James wasn’t too pleased about ESPN taking his son Bronny off their 2024 NBA Mock Draft and voiced his displeasure on X(formerly called Twitter). He posted,
“Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball. The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y’all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!”
James followed up with another post, writing,
“And to all the other kids out there striving to be great just keep your head down, blinders on and keep grinding. These Mock Drafts doesn’t matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE!”
He deleted both posts, but not before they went viral. While James’ frustration is understandable, he’s partially at fault for the attention on Bronny. Last year, he claimed the young guard was better than some players in the NBA.
In January, he told Lakers teammate Austin Reaves that Bronny could play for the Lakers despite the USC guard averaging less than 10 points per game. James’ eagerness to play with his son coupled with his overestimation of his abilities put him in the critics’ crosshairs. The Lakers superstar can be upset at Bronny’s detractors, but he’s partially responsible for the vitriol.
