Before the rumors of nepotism surrounding Bronny James reach a fever pitch, Adrian Wojnarowski is urging the public to be aware of the reality of the league.
Shortly after the Lakers selected the former University of Southern California product with the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday, officially pairing him with father LeBron James, an ESPN insider denied the allegations of nepotism, saying the league is “rife” with it.
“I don’t want to hear these accusations people make about nepotism. The NBA is full of nepotism.” Wojnarowski says“The level of ownership, the front office, the coaching. You don’t want to suddenly hear that just because Bronny James’ father plays for the Lakers. It’s rampant in this league.”
Long before this week’s draft began, rumors were building about the possibility of the 19-year-old Bronny joining the Lakers and playing alongside his father, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, as the first father-son duo in NBA history.
Before the Lakers submitted their second-round pick on Thursday, ESPN’s Bob Myers reported that LeBron and Bronny’s agent, Rich Paul, had warned teams not to draft the teenager.
“Rich Paul is calling the team [and saying]”He’s saying, ‘Don’t take Bronny James,'” Myers said on the network’s draft show. “He’s saying, ‘Don’t take him, you’re going to Australia.’ So he has a plan and he has a place.”
In his lone season with the Trojans, Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while appearing in 25 games.
He made his USC debut in December after suffering a horrific cardiac arrest last summer.
Bronny, a 6-foot-2 guard, had an impressive showing at this spring’s NBA Draft Combine, where he finished second among participants in the 3-Point Star Shooting Drill.
ESPN, via Awful Announcing
“I just want people to know my name is Bronny James. I don’t want to just be known as LeBron James’ son,” Bronny said at the combine. “It’d be nice to go into the league without thinking about playing with my dad, but that’s not my mindset. I’m just going to work hard and see where it takes me.”
Bronny choked back tears on Thursday as he watched the Lakers draft him.
He learned the news at an intimate family dinner in New York and said LeBron, who had committed to joining the Lakers for the final year of his contract by Saturday, was “very emotional.” According to ESPN:.
It’s been a big week for the Lakers, who installed rookie head coach JJ Redick on Monday and then acquired former Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht, the 17th pick in the first round of the NBA draft.
