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LeBron James and his son are making history as the first father-son duo on an NBA basketball court. Pretty cool, right?

However, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. So far, Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, is just not a very good basketball player. If he didn’t have that famous name on the back of his jersey, there’s no question that he wouldn’t be anywhere near the NBA right now. To be fair, Bronny did suffer a heart-related condition before his college basketball career even started. However, his lone year of basketball at the University of Southern California was anything but impressive. At least if Bronny remained in college, he could have worked on his game and maybe earned his way into the NBA, or even a lucrative career in a second-tier league overseas. But like with so many elitist brats, raised in a bubble, they start believing that the smoke being pumped up their rear ends is actually real, and they really are as great as everyone tells them they are.

ABC 30:

There had long been chatter about Bronny playing with his father, that LeBron had influenced the decision that ultimately saw the Los Angeles Lakerspick the younger James in the second round of the NBA draft, in some way.

“Nobody pressured Bronny to go pro,” Paul said. “Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else or he had a choice to go pro.”

This was Bronny’s call, Paul said, and Bronny’s alone — and one that publicly and privately drew immediate criticism.

Since the end of summer league in late July, during which Bronny averaged 7.0 points on 32.7% shooting along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in six games, he has traveled to Paris to watch his father win his third Olympic gold medal for Team USA. He has worked out with Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.

Paul said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, has told him that Bronny has been a fixture at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, California — that Bronny is the first one in the gym to work with the team’s player development staff, and that he has worked to shake off the rust; he played only 25 games at USC last season after surviving a sudden cardiac arrest in July 2023.

At media day on Sept. 30, LeBron and Bronny posed for photos together as teammates. They sat side by side during an interview with the team’s television partner, ribbing each other about a play the previous week at practice when LeBron drove baseline and scored on his son.

Sitting in front of rows of reporters, Bronny twice referenced the criticism about his decision to go pro. He said he wanted to “tune out all the noise and tune out all the people that don’t think I should be here” and that he wanted to turn all the “criticism and backlash” into fuel.

So far, through two preseason games, the only “historic” thing that happened on the court was the biggest and most blatant case of nepotism we’ve seen yet. Bronny James has been terrible, and you can bet that someone far more deserving lost their chance at an NBA roster because King LeBron was determined to make “history.”

The Big Lead:

LeBron James and Bronny James made NBA history on Sunday, when they took the floor together as the first-ever father/son duo in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 118-114 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, California.

LeBron played 16 minutes and produced his usual all-around stat line of 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. Bronny was scoreless in his 13 minutes, grabbing two rebounds with four turnovers and three fouls.

[…]

In two NBA preseason games, Bronny is averaging 1.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 14.7 minutes. He is shooting 14.3% from the field (1 for 7) and has missed both of his 3-point attempts.

It’s obvious why Bronny was playing—because his father is LeBron. There’s no other reason. Both men should be embarrassed by how it all played out. It wasn’t about skill or merit, just another example of connections trumping talent and the elites making up their own rules as they go.

Meanwhile, even the mainstream press has caught on, wondering if Bronny has been “set up for failure.”

ESPN:

“Bronny is serious,” Paul said. “This isn’t a f—ing game for him. He wants to play in the NBA, and he wants to play well within his role.”

Others around the NBA — even those who praise Bronny as a person and boast about the numerous intangibles he possesses that they’d want in a player — remain skeptical.

“The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “If they had any real idea of how far away Bronny is, they just would not have done this.”

Paul is keenly aware of the narrative around Bronny and wants to shift it.

But that narrative has only deepened. In interviews with nearly two dozen front office executives, coaches and scouts across the league, those who for years have tracked Bronny’s journey to the NBA, a two-part consensus has emerged: Bronny James, the most famous second-round pick in league history, not only isn’t ready for the NBA but was also drafted by the one team that presents the most challenging dynamic for him to succeed. That the daily cacophony of noise surrounding him on the Lakers will be both deafening and defeating, that the feel-good storyline of Bronny James playing alongside his father will soon give way to the reality of Bronny James the NBA player.

“You’re set up for failure,” one Eastern Conference scout who has evaluated Bronny for years said. “It’s like, what’s the expectation here?”

Bronny’s stats over summer league were similarly abysmal to his preseason performance thus far.

ESPN:

Since the end of summer league in late July, during which Bronny averaged 7.0 points on 32.7% shooting along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in six games, he has traveled to Paris to watch his father win his third Olympic gold medal for Team USA.

He has no business being in an NBA uniform. He’s a DEI player, and everybody knows it, even his own father.

But Bronny James isn’t the only no-talent relative to get a free pass on the basketball court. Have you heard of Thanasis Antetokounmpo? The guy can’t hack it at the NBA level, but he gets a free pass to play on the Milwaukee Bucks, simply because his brother is the famous “Greek Freak,” aka Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the best players to ever play on the Bucks.

It’s Antetokounmpo’s family legacy, not his talent, that’s keeping him in the game. Meanwhile, truly skilled players are sidelined while nepotism takes center stage. It’s a slap in the face to those who’ve worked hard and earned their spot, only to watch it handed over to someone coasting on their father’s fame. Will Bronny James go down the path of Thanasis Antetokounmpo? Only time will tell if he can actually make something of himself on an NBA roster.

This sort of talentless gameplay is also unfair to the fans, who pay a lot of money to watch these games. They deserve to see real skill, not some mediocre ball handling by a couple of rich brats chasing a fantasy and trying to make “history.” Fans aren’t paying for a family reunion on the court—they’re paying for top-tier basketball, and they’re being cheated. Royally.

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