Is Bronny James a Nepo Baby? Who Cares
/
Before the NBA draft I wrote a piece about Bronny James. I talked about his possible future in the NBA, why I hoped he was going to be drafted and why I was rooting for him from now on. None of that has changed.
Well, I guess he was drafted, but otherwise, I'm still unsure of his future and I am still rooting for him. I watched his first summer league game and it was fine. He didn't score a lot, but he was present and tough on defense, he played his role and he had some instances that made me think he has a future as a decent bench player in the NBA. Then he missed the second game and I fell off. I stopped with summer league all together. I check on the Grizzlies, but I'm out otherwise. Today I was out with my son and dad to lunch and my dad brought up a very good question. It is the question I am going to try and answer on this very blog today. He asked me if I think Bronny James is a nepo baby.
Nepo babies were all the rage a few months back. People were pointing out a bunch of actors who have famous parents. Some were outraged, others didn't seem to care. The whole idea of a nepo baby doesn't really sway me either way. If someone is talented enough to be paid to do a job, who cares who their parents may or may not be. If they used their parents to get into a door that others might not be able to, good for them. Your parents are supposed to help you out. I don't care if they used that advantage. That is smart. But, the whole idea of a nepo baby seemed to be relegated to Hollywood. I only ever heard it used when referring to actors. But there seem to be nepo babies everywhere. Parents have never stopped helping their kids get jobs. I know of plenty of people who were hired based upon a parental recommendation. And it doesn't bother me.
In the sports world, the whole idea of a nepo baby is going to be coming up more and more. A bunch of people who played, or play pro sports are having kids. These kids are growing up and they seem to have a natural ability to play the game their parents play or played. Carmelo Anthony's son is committed to Syracuse to play basketball right now. That is Carmelo's alma mater, and I'm certain he helped him in his decision to play there. Does that make Kiyan Anthony a nepo baby? Sure. Do people seem to care about it? Nope. Carmelo Anthony is retired, so Kiyan is going to go as far as he can on his own merit. Ken Griffey Jr played with his dad, who was on the Mariners when he was a rookie. Does that make him a nepo baby? Sure. Do I care? Absolutely not. Ken Griffey Jr is one of the greatest baseball players to ever live. He was already better than his dad when he got to the pros and he had a better career. There are a good amount of college athletes whose parents were college and pro athletes, and no one cares or focuses on them being nepo babies. But when it comes to Bronny James, people seem to ask this question more than they should, in my opinion.
Is Bronny James a nepo baby? Most definitely. But, I feel like he has to do a bunch more to prove his worth than any other nepo sports babies. There are a few reasons. First off, Bronny probably shouldn't have been drafted. Even with him going in the second round as the 55th pick, that seemed too high. He missed a bunch of the college season because of a heart defect. When he recovered, thankfully, he did not do much to prove he was a legit prospect. USC was bad and he was average. But, people could see his skill set and see a possible NBA future, if he went back to school. He did not. He went to the combine and had a solid, yet sometimes shaky showing. He did enough, I thought, that he could get a shot as a two way player. But, the pool of prospects at the combine was very, very watered down. This past NBA draft was one of the weaker classes in a long time, so the top players sat out. They knew, or had an idea of where they would go. Bronny had to go, and he did okay. But, I still do not think it was enough to be drafted. After staying in the draft, Rich Paul hovered over him and told him where and where not to work out. Bronny only worked out for two teams, the Suns and Lakers. Other teams, it was reported, were told not to schedule a workout because Bronny was informed by Rich Paul to not work out for them. Then the draft came. Bronny was not a first round pick, rightfully so. But, as day two dragged on, it was looking more and more likely that he was going to be available late in the second round. Rich Paul decided to get involved again, and told teams that if anyone other than the Lakers or Suns drafted Bronny, he would not play for them. I read that he would go overseas.
So, take all of this and smush it together, it reeks of nepotism. The Lakers were all but told to draft Bronny no matter what. Rich Paul and LeBron James wanted it, and they run the Lakers for all intents and purposes. There is no other way to look at this other than nepotism. But, who cares? Honestly. Bronny clearly has skills to be a pro basketball player at some level. He was a division 1 college basketball athlete. He was invited to the combine. He had scheduled workouts. Teams were interested. But his biggest draw is the fact that he is LeBron James' son. I truly don't know if there is any more known nepo baby than Bronny James. So, while he is, for sure, a nepo baby, that does not change the fact that I am still rooting for him to make a name for himself in the NBA. I don't care if his dad is one of the greatest to ever play the game, Bronny can carve out his own niche and stick around if he plays his way. I believe he can do that.
I'm still a Bronny James fan, nepo baby or not. His family gives me zero pause as to his ability.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.
Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.
Follow Ty on instagram.