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Former NBA forward John Salley believes there is a certain amount of jealousy at play in the criticism of the Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to select Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft and pair him with his father LeBron James.
“I’m glad Bronny got drafted by the Lakers,” Salley, who won four championships in his professional career, told TMZ Sports. “And everyone talks all this nonsense, hey, listen, if my dad had the power, if my dad was the best scorer, if my dad could take a pay cut so I could get a check – it’s like no other business.”
He added that the Jameses’ critics “are just mad because they didn’t think they could do it.”
Several things can be true.
Rich Paul, who represents LeBron and Bronny, told Chris Haynes for Bleacher Report in May that the United States is “built on nepotism,” citing numerous examples at the executive level in sports. In almost any other business, people wouldn’t think twice about their son working for the same employer as his father.
But sport is not like most other businesses.
Selecting a player who averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds as a rookie in the second round and then paying him nearly $8 million would have been questionable anyway, and James’ family connections only fueled the conversation.
The pressure on Bronny to perform will be even higher. The attention would have followed him anywhere, but if he was in LA working with LeBron, it’s different than if he had landed on a team in a smaller market that was rebuilding.
The 19-year-old will reportedly spend much of his rookie season with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. That should help take some of the spotlight off, but few rookies from the 2024 class will face more scrutiny next season.
