Why Bronny James Belongs In The NBA

Now, we can get down to the brass tack– Bronny James has been drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers . At No. 55 in the second round of the NBA draft, Bronny and his father LeBron James made history. They are now the first father-and-son duo ever in the NBA. Of course, with this development comes scrutiny and discourse. Not to mention, with this development comes major expectations. It’s expected that this be the case and some of it I would say is warranted. After all, we’re talking about the son of one of the GOATs of the game.

There hasn’t been a player to have started their career early enough and played long enough for this to have been possible before. Sure, you have many sons of former NBA players playing in the league today. The likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. have call carved out names for themselves in the association. However, all of their parents’ careers were long gone for them to ever team up. So, once again, LeBron is in a unique position, but what else is new? It seems now the public is critical of LeBron being a conduit to Bronny’s success. But I think that sentiment is misguided.

Sure, Bronny is the beneficiary of what Katt Williams would call a “ hookup .” But we can’t act like Bronny just rolled out of bed and got drafted. He’s been working toward this moment for years. He genuinely wanted this. Bronny was so determined, that he continued his pursuit after suffering cardiac arrest last year. The idea that Bronny was simply gifted this opportunity? I just can’t get with that.

When you look at examples like JJ Reddick becoming the Lakers’ latest head coach, you can see nepotism at play. Oftentimes, nepotism takes on such a negative connotation. However, at one point or another, we’ve all benefitted from it. JJ Reddick has cultivated a relationship with LeBron, and they seem to interact rather well together. I have no doubts that the rapport they have built aided in Reddick landing his new role. To be fair, some were critical of that as well, but it hasn’t been the groundswell we’ve seen regarding Bronny.

I maintain that Bronny has earned the right to play in the NBA if deemed good enough. It’s not like Bronny took away a prime draft spot from a prospect. He was drafted in the second round for Christ’s sake. If anything, Bronny has a great opportunity to grow his game a lot more than he would’ve at USC. Lastly, as Black culture, let’s embrace seeing more of these opportunities being made available for our children. These examples need to be more prevalent and normalized. Ultimately, this should be celebrated as a blessing. Too many times negative news rules our timelines. Salute to the James family for giving us something to aspire to.