A lot is being said in the world of sports right now. But if there's one thing that cannot be disputed, Bronny James is the most debated No. 55 overall pick in sports history. You might be able to count the times the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft has been talked about in sports media on your fingers. Had we not known better, it would've felt that LeBron James ' son was the first pick.
The worst decision in Lakers' history
Despite his status as a developing player, the media has gone in on the younger James. Since the Los Angeles Lakers took him at the bottom of the draft, some were expecting the move, while others were perhaps a touch surprised. However, some completely ridiculed the decision, with Fox Sports 1's Rob Parker being at the top of the list.
"I think this is the worst decision that has ever happened in professional sports," Parker said on Fox Sports Radio . "And I'm dead serious when I say that. It changes what the essence of the game has always been, which is about competition. This is what we always talked about, and the reason why you have an NFL where you have essentially 99% of the owners are white, and yet the league is 70% Black.
"Meritocracy is what allowed this to be the case. They didn't go out and fill their teams with people that look like them because they own the team, and said, 'I don't care. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do, and no one can tell me because I own the team.' It was about the best people went out there, played the game, and the people who deserved to get jobs, got jobs."
Parker on nepotism
Nepotism has existed in sports since the beginning. But Parker used it as his focal point argument as to why drafting Bronny was the worst decision in sports history.
"I heard a lot of people throw nepotism. And there's plenty of nepotism, and I've been critical … It's wrong. We've seen it, especially in the front office. But it ain't the same as what we've seen here, as far as on the field. Someone would have to show me on the field where some guy got his son a spot on a team, or some owner put his nephew on. 'Oh, just take the last spot in the roster, it doesn't matter. I want you to be on the team because I own the team."
This is where the pundit perhaps goes wrong in his argument. Long before Bronny's name was even called on draft night, the theme of "nepotism" was already glaring in the NBA. Look across the association for examples: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Giannis's brother), Keljin Blevins of Portland Trails Blazers (cousin of ex-Blazer Damian Lillard), Austin Rivers, who played on the Los Angeles Clippers when his father Doc was the head coach.
A reflection of bitterness towards LeBron?
As successful as Parker has been in his career, he has almost rivaled his colleague Skip Bayless in being one of LeBron James' biggest naysayers—could his rant have been inspired by his feelings towards the Lakers superstar?
The talking head has said it all over No. 23's 21 NBA seasons — that James would never win a title in Los Angeles, how losing the 2018 NBA Finals disqualified him from the G.O.A.T debate, the "toxic" environment that exists around the Hall of Famer, and most notably — how he controls the franchise.
Parker's argument has been mostly fueled by this. Throughout LeBron's career, especially in Los Angeles, the pundit has been critical of No. 23 for forcing the organization to bend to his will, which is why he perhaps sees Bronny's draft status as a reflection of the unjust power James holds.
"This is all about LeBron making this happen," he later added. The whole process feels bad and doesn't feel good. I feel bad for Bronny from the standpoint that people will look at him where if this was on his own merit…I think he would've had a better situation or a better chance without having people wear this on him that the only reason he's here is his dad.
"And people aren't going to say it. A lot of people aren't gonna say it publicly because LeBron still has power and is a big name. But I talk to a lot of former players who just to me said that this doesn't feel right on the way this was handled, all the conversation about t; everybody knew. I told you this months ago that he was going to the Lakers. There was no doubt in my mind at all how this was gonna play out."
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