How Bronny James got his chance is obvious, what he does with it is all that matters

2024 NBA Draft – Round Two

“I feel like the only way to handle the nepotism thing — which definitely gives you massive advantages in this life — is, you will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite. So you have to keep working and do a good job. If you do a bad job, the chances will stop.”

I thought of that quote from Maya Hawke — the actress who appeared in “Stranger Things” and many more shows and movies, and who not-so-coincidentally is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke — when thinking of Bronny James getting drafted by the Lakers on Thursday. He got his free chance.

Bronny reacts to getting drafted by the Lakers

Bronny and Savannah in tears. Means the world to them. ❤️ (via RoccoValenti_/IG) pic.twitter.com/YBR702j1iE

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 28, 2024

Did Bronny James get drafted because he is the son of LeBron James? Yes.

Did the Lakers draft Bronny in large part to make free-agent-to-be LeBron happy and want to return? Yes (as much as they might deny it).

Did Rich Paul, Bronny and LeBron’s agent, manipulate the system as best he could to get Bronny to the Lakers, including reportedly telling other teams that if they drafted him, Bronny would play in Australia? Yes, absolutely. (It should be noted that agents steering their players to a specific team have been around as long as there has been a draft, this wasn’t anything unusual.)

All those “yes” answers have led to a lot of pearl-clutching in some quarters, as if Bronny’s selection at No. 55 threatened the purity of basketball.

That’s laughable.

Bronny didn’t steal this pick from some poor deserving soul — this is pick 55, if some other prospect were good enough they would have been taken with one of the 54 picks before him. (The reality of the NBA draft is few picks after 50 ever meaningfully play in the NBA.)

More importantly, nepotism is as American as apple pie, peanut butter and jelly, and saying you’re Canadian when traveling in Europe so you don’t have to try and explain American politics. From corporate board rooms through political hallways of power and over to Hollywood sets,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bronny-james-got-chance-obvious-065405942.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-28 06:54:05

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