Is LeBron James inadvertently putting too much pressure on Bronny James to make it to the NBA? For Skip Bayless, that is indeed the case. Bayless touched upon the subject on a recent episode of Undisputed while discussing LeBron James’ tweets defending his son Bronny James after he was ‘left out’ of the 2024 NBA Draft and projected in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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In one of the tweets, James wrote, “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!“
Later, LBJ deleted this tweet. In light of this, Bayless and his crew at Undisputed discussed if the Mock Draft is correct in its assessment of Bronny. Subsequently, Bayless pointed out how LeBron James’ tweet can only end up exerting more pressure on his son. On his show, the FS1 analyst lauded the father looking out for his son but he also warned the Lakers superstar that the excessive love and overprotectiveness toward Bronny can end up backfiring.
“It’s this double-edged sword of LeBron is so proud of Bronny and he wants to defend Bronny. But when he over-defends him, it puts too much pressure on Bronny. So I think he took the tweets down because he is like, ‘I overreacted here, I should just leave it alone because I am drawing even more attention,” said Skip Bayless.
Bayless’ co-host Keyshawn Johnson argued that it is unclear to what exactly was LeBron James alluding to in his response. Was he irate with ESPN leaving out Bronny in the 2024 Mock draft or did he showcase his angst against those who were taking shots at his son for not making it to the 2024 Mock Draft? Whatever may be the case, Bronny James’ hoops journey has taken a rather tenuous twist, there’s no doubt about that.
Bronny James may not be ready for NBA action yet
The USC Guard has had a tough time adjusting from high school to the NCAA competition. For the Trojans, he is tallying merely 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He is shooting just 37.1% from the floor and 27.5% from the three-point line. These numbers are underwhelming and have put his draft status for 2024 in jeopardy. However, there is a reason why the eldest son of LBJ is having some trouble.
After a sizzling outing in the McDonald’s All-American Game with 5 out of 8 makes from the three-point line, Bronny raised expectations among many NBA faithful. He was already at the Top-30 for the 2024 draft, as per both ESPN and others. However, in late July 2023, he suffered a cardiac arrest at USC’s practice facility which hindered his progress considerably. The teenager missed a month’s action because of the recovery process and made an emotional debut in December. This is why, he has played in 19 out of 27 games.
The hype around his NBA draft status has been huge because his father has expressed the desire to play with him in the NBA. Therefore, ESPN’s latest mock draft list is disheartening for both his father and many NBA fans. However, the Shooting Guard is just 19 years old and can bounce back to ignite his NBA chances.
