Stephen A. Smith Reveals Eye-Opening Take about Bronny James' Place With Lakers

The past few days have been filled with a lot of strong opinions and a little bit of vitriol for Bronny James ever since the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

A lot of fans and media members have made it very known that they don't think he has a place in the NBA, and his move to the professional ranks was just a major sign of nepotism, since his father, LeBron James, is one of the most powerful players in the league at present.

People have insulted his game and his future while talking about the subject, but on Sunday, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took a different route in order to talk about the eldest James son.

Stephen A. reminded us about the harrowing ordeals that James went through just a year ago, suffering cardiac arrest at a USC Trojans practice, and encouraged everyone to see how special of a moment it is that James made it to this point when at on point, we were concerned about his future in general.

"We didn't know what his status was, we didn't know what his health was like," Smith said on his show. "We didn't know whether or not he'd be able to play basketball again. And I remember when we first heard it that we didn't know if he was going to survive."

Fortunately, Bronny did survive and was able to return for the latter portion of USC's 2023-24 season, with his role increasing as he got back into shape.

However, the fact that he was able to bounce back and get into a position where he could be drafted — whether warranted or not — is something that can be celebrated. We will see how good he is in the league, and how much of a longevity his career has, but at the very core of it, we can be happy that this kid is living out his dreams after it was looking pretty dark a year ago.

Related: NFL Legend Blasts Bronny James' NBA Future in Fiery Commentary