Battleground. This is the only word that perfectly fits the NBA. You survive or crumble under intense pressure. And if you’re a James, prepare for all the eyes glaring at you and your stats. Well, Stephen A. Smith has taken up the moral responsibility of firing not just at LeBron James, but also his son Bronny James. However, the 20YO rookie guard is trying, he’s improving, but that’s only in the well-wishers’ eyes. Because for the critical ones, James Jr. is far from being a star.
In Bronny James’ latest conversation with The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, he brought up the criticisms he’s been facing since his debut. Bronny was never just another late second-round pick. His name, his legacy, and his father’s history made sure of that. From draft night to his contract, the spotlight was always going to burn brighter. No escape.
Perhaps, the hardest blow came on Jan 29. Not just because of the words, but because of who said them. Stephen A. Smith, live on First Take, didn’t hold back. James Jr. had gone scoreless. That was enough. “I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” he said. “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.” To say this did not sit well with LeBron would be an understatement.
Bronny James opens about the effects amidst confrontation between his father and Stephen A. Smith
LeBron wasn’t having it. After a Lakers home game earlier in March, he made sure Stephen A. knew. He’d always said Bronny blocked out the noise, kept his head down, and focused. But Bronny? He admitted otherwise. He hears it. Feels it. Uses it. Every word, every doubt—fuel for what comes next.
“My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down, and come to work and be positive every day,” Bronny James said. “But sometimes it just, fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a f— robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.”
The 20YO Lakers guard added: “But I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day. That’s what Rob wants me to do as a young guy, coming in, playing in the G League, and learning from far on the bench watching the Lakers play.”
This is a developing story…
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