It really doesn’t matter what Bronny James will do throughout his NBA journey, he’ll all the time be related together with his father LeBron. Now that the group that has employed the four-time champion for the previous six years has chosen the 19-year-old with the fifty fifth choose of the 2024 Draft, the claims of nepotism round his profession have solely magnified.
Wealthy Paul, who serves as each the gamers’ agent, assured not too way back that he tried to steer different groups away from the younger grownup and solely accepted personal exercises with two golf equipment: the Phoenix Suns and the purple and gold.
Simply because the younger guard was launched in Los Angeles on Tuesday, he was capable of confront these accusations. Nevertheless, it was his personal coach JJ Redick who was fast to push away the notion that the participant is simply there due to his father. “Rob and I didn’t give Bronny something. Bronny has earned this,” Redick stated.
# for the @Lakers: Bronny James pic.twitter.com/oTpYSU12X3
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 2, 2024
“Bronny talks about his arduous work. Bronny has earned this by arduous work,” he assured. “And for us, prioritizing participant improvement, we view Bronny as like, case research one. As a result of his base degree of really feel, athleticism, level of assault defender, capturing, passing, there’s loads to love about his sport, and as we kind of construct out our participant improvement program holistically, he’s gonna have a fantastic alternative to grow to be a wonderful NBA participant.”
Imagine him or not, Bronny assured that the prospect to play professionally together with his father performed no position in his resolution to enter this yr’s draft after a lone season in USC. The rising star assured that he can deal with all the additional consideration and strain he receives.
“I’m … attempting to get my title out for myself,” the rookie stated this Tuesday. “I simply wish to are available in and get my work in and get higher day-after-day. I by no means actually had a considered me going to play with my dad. That’s all the time there to participate of, nevertheless it wasn’t a important focus of mine.”
In a information convention on the group’s coaching complicated, the Los Angeles membership formally launched him subsequent to the membership’s first-round choose, Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht. Nevertheless, a lot of the consideration went to the No. 55 total choice.
By no means has a father and son performed within the NBA on the identical time, not to mention compete with the identical group, because the James duo are set to make historical past
LeBron has already damaged so many data within the league, however by no means did he imagine he would create an entire new mark involving his eldest son. By no means has a father and son performed within the NBA on the identical time, as they guarantee to be able to take care of the strain of enjoying in the identical squad collectively.
“It’s for certain amplified the quantity of strain,” Bronny shared. “I’ve already seen it in (social) media and on the web and stuff speaking about (how) I won’t deserve a possibility. However I’ve been coping with stuff like this for my entire life. It’s nothing completely different. It’s extra amplified for certain, however I can get by it.”
The 19-year-old was requested loads about the truth that he determined to leap straight into the NBA after a single marketing campaign of school basketball, however he stirred the solutions away from this narrative. Nevertheless, he did mirror on how he dealt together with his cardiac arrest episode that occurred virtually a yr in the past.
“The time that I had off, I really feel like I may have been perfecting my sport extra,” James Jr. stated. “I simply really feel like I’ve been given the chance to showcase what I can actually do, as a result of I wasn’t on condition that a lot of a possibility at SC. So I’m excited for what it’s going to be.”