Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James truly is a one-of-a-kind hooper. The 4x NBA Champion is just nine points away from becoming the first-ever player to surpass the 40,000-point mark. However, this huge milestone saw the King turn into a 39-year-old. Thus, his retirement may soon follow once he conquers another summit in basketball.

However, it seems like the weight of LeBron James’ expectations may be overwhelming for his 19-year-old kid, who’s in his freshman year of college. Bronny James doesn’t boast the staggeringly high stats of his father and has only managed to record 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game for the USC Trojans. Needless to say, these low NCAA stats will also affect his NBA Draft ratings. Especially when ESPN is projecting Bronny as a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

ESPN’s draft projections have sparked intense debate regarding Bronny’s draft prospects and the lofty expectations surrounding him. Many have blamed LeBron James for creating such immense hype around a teenager. However, on a 2018 episode of The Shop, LBJ revealed that he regretted giving Bronny his name. He said, “I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name. When I was younger, obviously, I didn’t have a dad. My whole thing was, whenever I have a kid, not only is he gonna be a junior, but I’m gonna do everything this man (LeBron’s father) didn’t do.” 

This excerpt from the Shop shows that LeBron James was privy to the expectations he was placing on Bronny. But now, his 2018 interview is resurfacing in discussions once again. In fact, King James was the one to usher his old interview online by posting some tweets on X and bringing Bronny’s draft prospects to centerstage once again.

LeBron James publicly voiced his opinion about the new mock draft and wrote, “Can y’all please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball?” These tweets were deleted from the social media platform soon after, but the world had already taken notice. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith took exception to James’ take and blamed him for Bronny’s current predicament. He said, “You’re gonna tweet about folks needing to leave your son alone? You did that. LeBron is entirely and completely culpable for any kind of critique coming in Bronny’s direction.”

There have been several instances where LeBron James has stated that he wants to play in the NBA with Bronny before he retires. This can also be easily seen as another baggage of expectations on Bronny to perform. In March 2023, the Lakers star even stated that Bronny is better than some of the players in the NBA. LBJ’s rhetoric has backfired, and now he must deal with the fallout. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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