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Last July, due to a birth defect, LeBron James’ son Bronny went into cardiac arrest during training and fell unconscious. After four months of treatment, he received permission from the doctors to return to the deck. Now he rewrote basketball history.
He had an exceptional debut in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers and right alongside his father, which no one else has ever done.
Bronny got on the board four minutes before the end of the second quarter. Together with his father, he played for about two and a half minutes. “Are you ready? Do you see the intensity? Just play calmly and don’t say mistakes. Go out there and give it your all,” he quotes James as saying to his son just before the start of the Livesport game. The elder James contributed 16 points, five rebounds and four assists to the victory. In the end, Bronny played less than three minutes and did not score.
LA Lakers – Minnesota 110:103 – more on the sport.cz website
But before the historic event, the fighter Bronny had to listen to rather sour criticism instead of admiration. Why? Well, precisely because his dad is the phenomenal athlete LeBron James.
Because he doesn’t have any numbers himself.
Because that is already the human setting.
Across the ocean, the topic of nepotism, favoritism of relatives at work is now sizzling. If this is the case of twenty-year-old Bronny James, he will confirm or deny the numbers in the coming weeks. The only one that applies.
Bronny wore a James Jr. jersey for the game against Minnesota.
“I’m looking forward to it, even though there are more negative reactions to it overseas,” Lukáš Feštr, a basketball player from Jindřichov Hradec, who has been closely following the NBA for years and reports on it in his podcast, said before the game. “The issue is whether Bronny James is right in the NBA or not. For LeBron, one of the greatest achievements of his career is to play with his son,” he adds.
And that one of the best players in the history of basketball claimed those successes. The four-time NBA champion and record holder in the number of points scored in the regular season does not need to be introduced at length. The icon not only on the field also participated in the Olympic gold for the Dream Team this year. Only now, however, will he succeed in something that other basketball giants have failed to do. Or their descendants. Scotty Pippen Jr., Shareef O’Neal, Marcus Jordan did not go through the draft.
At the age of thirty-nine, LeBron James agreed with the Lakers on a two-year contract with a maximum value of 104 million dollars (2.421 billion crowns). He has 21 seasons in the NBA behind him, his body has withstood a huge load and his mind a lot of pressure and hype.
But now he is not the main part of the media circus, but his son.
“There’s a lot of criticism of Bronny, but he’s not to blame. It seems to me that he was a little bit into it so that dad could make another dash for himself,” says Feštr. “I feel really sorry for him. He gets it mainly from anonymous fans. They mock him for having three losses in the preseason. At the same time, the boy is not to blame for the fact that the Lakers chose him, that LeBron James is his dad who wanted to fulfill his dream, but he must have sensed that it would be rather difficult for Bronny. So that the boy doesn’t get sick of it,” he worries.
He has no height, no numbers
He himself tries to empathize with James Jr. Feštr’s father Dominik also played in the highest basketball competition, he is a legend of Ústí nad Labem, but Lukáš did not have to listen to talk of patronage as a youth representative.
“I didn’t hear this. I will say frankly that in the youth categories I was always one of the best in the class. This was never there. My father trained me for one year in the 14s in Ústí nad Labem, then I went to Prague and he never trained me again,” he describes.
Even so, when reading overseas articles, he tries to imagine what Bronny is going through. And they’re rooting for him to make it in the NBA. “I would really like it for him. I’m a fan of such stories where no one believes him. I wish he would shut up the doubters. But percentages don’t work for him,” he points out. “I dare say, there is already speculation overseas that Bronny will start in the first game for a few minutes (it happened – editor’s note), to fulfill it as soon as possible, he had it over with. Then he will play the minimum for the Lakers and play in the farm league where he will try to improve. That would make the most sense for him – to go into seclusion a bit and not be under such pressure that can simply grind him down.”
Father and son
- He was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, USA.
- His father, Anthony McClelland, was convicted and thus left Gloria to raise her son alone.
- LeBron James is one of the best basketball players in history, he played 22 seasons in the NBA, won the competition four times, he holds the scoring record when he surpassed Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points last year. He is also a three-time Olympic champion.
- He agreed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a new two-year contract with a maximum value of 104 million dollars (2.421 billion crowns). He is one of the highest paid athletes on the planet.
- In Ohio, he opened a $41 million public school for children of low-income parents.
- He has three children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson.
LeBron Raymone Bronny James Jr.
- LeBron’s son was born on October 6, 2004.
- In his only varsity season, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists. He returned from a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital defect.
- The Lakers drafted him as the 55th player.
Already the preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, in which they started together for the first time, caused a stir. It was a turning point. They both thoroughly enjoyed their four minutes together. “For me, not having grown up with a father myself, being able to have that kind of influence on my kids is extremely valuable,” LeBron told CNN. “And to be able to work side by side with my son now is something that no father can even imagine.”
Bronny added to the BBC: “Obviously I was happy about it, but at the same time I was trying to stay calm and focus on the match. I want to show that I am ready and that I want to be an irreplaceable part of the team.”
Critics of Bronny point mainly to the numbers. In a single college season, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. No glory. However, the junior’s strengths are mainly on his own part of the board in defensive activities.
“He is limited by his physical proportions, he is not as tall as his father,” mentions Feštr of his 188 centimeters. He himself has three fewer, which is why he became a quarterback. “Bronny is a point guard in terms of height, but he’s not a classic scorer and playmaker who would create a shot, play for others. In profile, a wing would be ideal for him. He doesn’t have that success of shooting for three, but his style is not bad, it can be shot. He can be a very solid defender in the defensive half, it’s just a shame that he isn’t ten to twelve centimeters taller, that would be much easier for him. That’s how hard it is. He doesn’t have the height and he doesn’t have that much quality in the game for a quarterback.”
Centimeters are important under high baskets, everyone fits. “How many times does it seem like you say five inches, but that’s five inches up and another five armspans. It’s completely different right away,” says Feštr from his own practice.
Nepotism and nepo baby
Asked if he also sees nepotism in Bronny’s NBA debut, he nods. “LeBron James is in a special position. If he didn’t have him, I dare say that the Lakers will select someone else in this year’s draft at the 55th position. I see it as patronage is there,” he muses. “Bronny James can be considered a prospect for the future, but at least a year or two in college would benefit him. It’s not written anywhere that they can’t play together in two years, but LeBron James is no longer the youngest,” he reminds.
However, Lakers coach JJ Redick flatly rejects questions about possible patronage. “Bronny works hard and shows that he has not only talent but also humility and determination. The support of his parents LeBron and Savannah is extremely important to him. Bronny is not only a great player, but also a wonderful person,” he emphasized. “They will enjoy many more moments together.”
In the hyper-correct United States, articles have already appeared that “black nepotism is actually not so bad, because few descendants of black families have had such an opportunity as in the case of whites. And as rare examples, he cites a new class of Hollywood privileged stars called “nepo babies,” including the son of actor Denzel Washington or the daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz, and that the story of two black men, a father and son rewriting basketball history, is a moment worth celebrating instead of dissection.”
In other words, doesn’t such a personality who has done so much for basketball deserve a little privilege? Anyway, it will only depend on the senator and how he can fight on his own.
We updated the text with the result of the match Lakers – Minnesota
