Bronny James has received no shortage of attention for a few years now. The attention was expected given the fact that he is LeBron James’ son. With the 2024 NBA Draft right around the corner, Kendrick Perkins recently went on a rant while speaking on ESPN about all of the coverage surrounding Bronny, via Tyler Rucker.
“Let me say this, we have to stop as the media and everybody else shining the light on Bronny,” Perkins said. “Because it’s other players that are deserving of our attention. The lottery guys, the guys that are actually going to get drafted in the first round. We are talking about a guy, a young man that’s possibly going to go late second round or not get drafted at all. In my four years of working here, I’ve never said… we will talk about a second round pick.”
The other ESPN analysts immediately argued that the coverage is warranted since the legendary LeBron James is Bronny’s father. But Perkins still wasn’t having it.
“What does that have to do with his son being at the draft combine?” Perkins asked in frustration. “We didn’t shine the light on Scottie Pippen’s son like this. We can’t move the goalpost and feel like we gonna do it when it’s convenient for us.”
Bronny James’ admission
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Perkins may not be a fan of all the coverage around Bronny, but it is not James’ fault. He is just focused on the things he can control. In fact, he even recently discussed the difficulties of being a basketball player with LeBron as his father.
“It’s tough. A lot of criticism gets thrown my way,” Bronny said, via SiriusXM NBA Radio. “I gotta deal with it. They don’t know what I’ve been through. I just try to make the best of my opportunities that’s given to me.”
As for Perkins’ stance on the matter, there are arguments to be made for both sides.
There are many talented draft prospects who are not receiving as much attention as Bronny James. In fact, Bronny is one of the most popular prospects heading into this year’s draft. There are better players who should receive recognition, though.
With that being said, Bronny is LeBron James’ son. It is not surprising to see him receiving this much attention. LeBron is arguably the greatest player of all-time. And even if you think Michael Jordan is the greatest player to ever step on an NBA floor, LeBron is typically mentioned as the second greatest player of all-time.
So of course his son is going to make headlines ahead of the NBA Draft. There is even more attention on Bronny given the fact that he could realistically play with LeBron at the NBA level. It is extremely uncommon to see a father and son play together in the NBA, especially when the father is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the game.
That story alone is worthy of recognition. Still, other top prospects should receive more attention as well. But Bronny James is going to continue to be talked about on a consistent basis with the draft right around the corner.