LeBron James’ epic nepotism marks the beginning of the NBA

But it seems that American talk shows have ignored this good material to direct all their talks towards an unprecedented event. LeBron James will be the first player in league history to share a locker room with his son, Bronny James. The Los Angeles Lakers star, after winning five rings with four different teams (two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the last with the Lakers), was looking for one last legendary challenge, the last frontier. And since she had her first child when she was only 19 years old (she is now 39), she opted for nepotism.

The Lakers and the entire league knew his desire, so choosing James junior in last summer’s draft became a kind of Cold War battle. LeBron did not have a contract and acquiring the rights to his son meant getting closer to hiring one of the best players in history, solemn and dominant in his basketball despite being practically forty (last season he averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and eight assists). But it seems there was never a debate: the Lakers would sign Bronny and LeBron would renew with them.

A reality that was consummated last July, when the head of the James clan extended his relationship with the Californians for two years in exchange for more than 100 million dollars and, in exchange, the Lakers selected his son in the 55th position in the Draft. , a figure reserved for players who do not foresee a solid career in the NBA. The coven was a reality, father and son would share a locker room and play on one of the most iconic teams in the history of basketball.

However, criticism did not take long to flourish. In one of Bronny James’ first games with the Lakers in the summer league, a pure preseason competition in which not even the best players of each franchise are present, the cameras captured Jaylen Brown, star of the Celtics, confessing what next: “I don’t think Bronny has the level to be a professional.” The MVP of the last NBA finals apologized, but the truth is that the one from Georgia opened the ban on attacks towards young Bronny.

Even a sports director of one of the Eastern Conference teams hid behind anonymity to delve into LeBron’s decision to force him to play with his son. «It is destined to fail. “That all of this has come so far is surreal.” The reality is that the criticism is partly justified, since Bronny, 20 years old, only played one year in the university league, where he defended the colors of the USC Trojans and under which he averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 assists, 2 .8 rebounds, very weak numbers for making the jump to the NBA. Additionally, Bronny suffered cardiac arrest stemming from a congenital defect during preseason training in July, but was resuscitated in time to save his life. All this meant that, if he had not been the son of, he would never have reached the highest sphere of basketball.

Disappointing numbers

Thus, the rookie has not managed to reverse the situation with his performances in the preseason with the Lakers. He has only averaged 1.6 points in a total of five games, in addition to missing all eleven attempts from the triple that he has made. Numbers that have exacerbated the unbridled criticism of the shooting guard and that have caused LeBron to sharpen his paternal sense during warm-ups, in which father and son have been seen joking and playing as we imagine they have done since Bronny was a child.

The Lakers have tried to justify themselves by saying that their star’s first-born son has earned being part of the team on his own merits and, as his new coach, former player JJ Redick, assures, Bronny has the potential to be an NBA-level defender. Meanwhile, the young man, who assimilates wonderfully the mountains of attacks he suffers, has confessed that he is aware that his numbers have been disappointing. Whatever happens, his father’s dream has already come true.