Explore Bronny James' journey from high school standout to navigating challenges and carving his own path in basketball, all while under the unique pressure of being LeBron James' son.
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Make sure to subscribe and follow HoopDiamonds everywhere so you don't miss out on any of the action!
IG: http://www.instagram.com/hoopdiamonds
Playmaker Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@playmakr
HoopDiamonds is a grassroots & high school basketball content creation platform based out of South Florida, dedicated to bringing you the best and highest quality basketball video content on the internet. Powered by @Playmaker.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [crowd cheering]
00:02 In the world of basketball, where headlines off the floor
00:05 seem to get more attention than what actually happens on it,
00:08 there's a much more nuanced story about Bronny James
00:10 that many are missing.
00:12 Of course, everyone knows him as the son of LeBron James,
00:15 but he's way more than just that label.
00:17 And his journey up to this point
00:18 has never been about filling his dad's shoes
00:20 or living up to the unprecedented expectations
00:23 that casual fans were destined to give him.
00:25 Because when those shoes belong to someone
00:27 who's widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time,
00:30 even Bronny himself knows it would be a detriment
00:32 to place that kind of pressure on his own shoulders.
00:34 [grunting]
00:35 And thankfully, he hasn't.
00:37 The 6'5" guard born in Akron, Ohio,
00:39 who, yes, happens to be the son of LeBron James,
00:42 has somehow managed to navigate unprecedented levels of fame,
00:45 media attention, and public scrutiny completely unscathed.
00:48 He proved millions of his doubters wrong
00:50 when he put on that McDonald's All-American jersey last March,
00:53 and is now pulling off an extraordinary medical feat
00:55 by playing high-level Division I basketball,
00:57 just six months removed from suffering a cardiac arrest,
01:00 something that not only threatened his basketball career,
01:03 but potentially his life.
01:04 If you haven't picked up on it by now,
01:06 despite his name getting dragged into headlines
01:07 for reasons out of his control,
01:09 despite the ungodly amounts of hype and pressure
01:11 that gets thrown at him,
01:12 he always seems to find a way to step up to the plate
01:14 in his own way and on his own terms.
01:16 We're gonna take a closer look at how Bronny got to this point,
01:19 why I think he will exceed people's now lowered expectations
01:22 of his NBA future,
01:23 and a potential avenue I think he should explore
01:25 in the upcoming NBA draft later this summer.
01:27 [music playing]
01:28 From the moment Bronny James first stepped foot on the basketball court,
01:36 the weight of expectations from basketball fans around the world was apparent.
01:39 Being the son of LeBron James meant that every move, every play,
01:43 and every decision was under heightened scrutiny.
01:45 It's one thing to grow up in the shadow of greatness,
01:47 but another to be constantly compared to it,
01:49 especially during the formative years of middle and high school.
01:52 The pressure and judgment directed at Bronny
01:54 weren't just about his performances,
01:56 they were comparisons to a legacy far beyond the reach of any young athlete.
02:00 Yet, this has been Bronny's reality for what's probably felt like his entire life,
02:03 a constant barrage of expectations and comparisons
02:06 that would overwhelm any elite player coming up.
02:09 Despite all of that,
02:10 Bronny's only showed signs of resilience and growth
02:12 just about every single summer.
02:14 I can't tell you the amount of times I've been asked,
02:16 "So what do you think of Bronny? Is Bronny actually any good?"
02:19 And my answer would always be,
02:20 "Well, if your baseline of comparison is going to be his father, then no."
02:24 But I would always try to get people to set aside the innate temptation
02:27 to compare him to his own bloodline
02:29 and to just take in what we could actually see on the floor,
02:31 which, funny enough, were in a lot of ways flashes of his pops.
02:34 He's possessed an extremely high IQ, since I can remember.
02:37 Dating all the way back to the sixth or seventh grade,
02:39 there was never a doubt in my mind
02:41 that Bronny knew how to play the game of basketball the right way,
02:43 which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
02:45 The amount of basketball he's been exposed to since a very young age
02:48 is likely the main culprit for this elite-level IQ.
02:51 Now, it's one thing to possess that elevated knowledge of the game,
02:54 but it's a whole other thing to actually use it effectively, and he did.
02:57 With that high-level IQ,
02:58 Bronny showed great signs of being a gifted passer as well,
03:01 and not just in a flashy sense.
03:02 While he was capable of throwing a sweet dime,
03:05 it was the simple ones that were the most impressive,
03:07 making the easy pass or the extra pass.
03:09 And that stuck out to me in the first few times I got a chance to watch him play.
03:12 While scoring the basketball wasn't something that came easy to him
03:14 right out the gate,
03:15 over the years, you could tell that he had been putting in the necessary work,
03:19 each summer adding something to his game
03:20 and eventually becoming one of the best shooters in his class.
03:23 That consistent improvement year in and year out
03:25 is what gave me the feeling that he might actually have a chance.
03:28 Not to surpass or even meet his dad's damn near unattainable accomplishments,
03:32 but a chance to be the first son of a perennial superstar
03:35 that goes on to create their own legacy at the highest level.
03:38 And when I say that,
03:39 that isn't to downplay or diminish the achievements of those that came before him.
03:42 Marcus and Jeffrey Jordan,
03:44 Sharif and Shakir O'Neal,
03:46 and even Zaire Waite.
03:47 They have all gone on to create their own names and legacies,
03:50 both on and off the court,
03:51 whether it's through business or playing at the collegiate level
03:53 and even some professional.
03:55 However, what Brawny is on the verge of doing would be different,
03:57 putting him in a category of his own
03:59 when it comes to the offspring of players in the all-time player discussions.
04:03 Fast forward to this past summer
04:04 and news breaks that Brawny collapsed during a workout with USC.
04:07 We later found out that he was rushed to the hospital
04:09 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
04:11 And while he was alive and in stable condition,
04:14 he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect,
04:16 which essentially means that he was born with a structural heart abnormality
04:19 that puts him at a higher risk of suffering from this kind of health scare.
04:22 Leading up to the college basketball season,
04:24 I'd say the general consensus was that no one would be surprised
04:26 if Brawny decided to sit out the entire season.
04:28 However, Brawny made his debut for the Trojans on December 10th,
04:32 just one month after the season started
04:33 and roughly six months after he collapsed,
04:36 which in my opinion just isn't being talked about enough,
04:38 or at the very least being factored into people's analysis
04:41 of how he's played during his freshman season.
04:43 And if recovering from a near-fatal episode wasn't bad enough,
04:46 he's now having to deal with even more unnecessary scrutiny.
04:49 This time at the hands, or Twitter fingers, of his father.
04:52 Don't get me wrong,
04:53 the overwhelming majority of the pressure and expectations
04:56 that Brawny faces come from the exterior public.
04:59 He'll always have his fair share of irrational haters,
05:01 both in the media and in the court of public opinion.
05:03 But LeBron's outcry on Twitter,
05:05 where he went after Jonathan Gavone's updated mock draft on ESPN,
05:08 which didn't include Brawny this time around,
05:10 was just the latest example of how a proud father,
05:13 who also happens to be the most influential person in the NBA,
05:16 could actually be doing more harm than good.
05:18 And I think we've finally gotten to that point where that is the case.
05:20 Just a few months ago, back in January,
05:22 LeBron made the claim that Brawny could play for the Lakers right now,
05:25 the same night that he was quoted saying that the Lakers just suck right now.
05:28 This is after he'd already tweeted this back in March of last year.
05:31 Now, here's the thing. On its face, at least to me,
05:34 there's nothing wrong with Brawn saying those things.
05:36 Back then, and even now, I would actually say that I agree with him.
05:39 To me, Brawny possesses a skill set
05:40 that complements the NBA game over a college one.
05:43 That isn't unique to Brawny either.
05:44 I'd say there are probably 50 to 100 other draft prospects
05:47 who would fall under the same category.
05:49 We see it all the time.
05:50 Guys look just okay or good in college,
05:52 but nothing special outside of a handful of flashes.
05:54 Then, boom, they get to the NBA
05:56 and take off to a whole different stratosphere.
05:58 That could be linked to a lot of things.
06:00 Not playing in the right system, not getting the right development,
06:02 being pulled 10 different directions
06:04 while dealing with the facade that is amateurism in college athletics.
06:07 I'll save that for another video, though.
06:09 What I am getting at is,
06:10 LeBron's tweets and feelings of how Brawny could be playing in the NBA
06:13 over a year ago could both be 100% true or completely false.
06:17 The actual answer doesn't matter here.
06:19 What actually matters is that he believed those things when he said it.
06:21 And if he did believe those things,
06:23 which I feel confident in saying that he did,
06:25 then he shouldn't be switching up his tune
06:27 and playing the whole "let the kid be a kid" card
06:29 where Brawny's name gets left off of a mock draft.
06:31 Because you were the one making those claims,
06:33 drawing that attention,
06:34 and placing that pressure squarely on Brawny's shoulders,
06:37 not the media or an NBA draft analyst
06:39 whose whole job is to create an updated mock draft
06:42 as the season unfolds.
06:43 Stephen A. Smith did a great job articulating this point
06:45 on First Take last week.
06:47 With all of that said, I don't think that LeBron is intending
06:49 to make Brawny's life any harder than it already is.
06:51 It's likely just a backfired attempt at being a relatable, passionate dad.
06:55 But despite that, it still has its consequences.
06:57 Stories like this gracing every sports blog and TV network
07:00 will only continue to dial up the pressure
07:02 that Brawny finds himself under even further,
07:04 which is something I don't think anyone in the James household wants.
07:07 Because when you actually strip away all of the chaos,
07:09 the name, the hype, the crazy expectations,
07:12 you're actually looking at a very good basketball player
07:14 with the potential to be a good, great,
07:16 or even elite level three-point shooter at the next level.
07:19 Something that could never be said about LeBron Sr.
07:21 at any point in his career.
07:23 Elite shooting upside and a high-level understanding of the game,
07:26 coupled with explosive athleticism and tools to be a great defender,
07:29 that's the description of a player who has a chance
07:31 to make a real impact on an NBA team,
07:33 if they're lucky enough to find themselves in the right situation
07:36 where they can develop into a player who reaches that full potential.
07:39 Which leads me to a theory,
07:41 one that would help assure that Brawny finds himself in a situation
07:44 like the one I just described.
07:45 And just this weekend, Clutch Sports' Rich Paul
07:47 hinted at something kind of similar.
07:49 Brawny shouldn't get drafted.
07:51 I know what you're probably thinking.
07:52 But wait, you just got done giving this whole spiel
07:54 about how you think Brawny is an NBA-caliber player.
07:57 So why am I now saying he shouldn't get drafted?
07:59 That's because I'm really saying that Brawny shouldn't want to get drafted.
08:02 And right now, with all the hoopla and the media,
08:05 it's looking more and more like that's the consensus opinion anyway.
08:08 Think about it. There's virtually zero incentive for Brawny
08:10 to go back to school, develop a little more,
08:13 and then come out in next year's draft.
08:14 Why? So he can get drafted by a mediocre to bad team
08:18 with no winning culture and a subpar development program?
08:21 Call me crazy, but I don't really see LeBron wanting to go team up with Brawny
08:24 in the majority of the markets who would be finding themselves
08:26 picking in the lottery over the next two years.
08:29 We all know that LeBron is all about the narrative.
08:31 Whether we like it or not, that storyline probably is happening.
08:34 And it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when and where.
08:38 Now, I get it.
08:39 It's been every young hooper's dream to get drafted at one point in their life.
08:42 And I do totally get it if Brawny wants to fulfill that dream.
08:45 All I'm trying to do is point out that Brawny is in a very unique position
08:48 where he doesn't need to prioritize getting picked the highest
08:51 or even picked at all for that matter.
08:52 The contract he goes on to sign for his rookie deal
08:55 might pale in comparison to the Nike deal he just inked
08:57 while playing for the Trojans this year.
08:59 And I can hear the outrage already.
09:01 People crying about how that isn't fair,
09:03 that he only gets afforded these luxuries because of his dad,
09:06 the claims of nepotism, yada, yada, yada.
09:08 So what?
09:09 He didn't choose where he'd be born and who he'd be born to,
09:12 but what he did choose to do was pick up a basketball
09:14 and go on this long, tumultuous, thankless, unrelenting journey
09:18 of following in the footsteps of his old man
09:20 and decided to try and create his own legacy
09:22 without ever seeming to give a single damn about how it would stack up
09:26 or the way it would be perceived by others.
09:27 He's actively choosing to continue doing something
09:30 most people would have given up on a long time ago.
09:32 The fact that Brawny could have stopped playing basketball about five years ago
09:35 and wouldn't have had to worry about a single thing financially
09:37 just shows me that him and I have something in common.
09:40 We just fucking love basketball.
09:42 And I respect the hell out of that.
09:43 So if he did decide to game the system in an attempt to ensure
09:46 that he lands with a team that has his best interest at heart
09:49 and feels he has the best chance to develop with,
09:51 then more power to him.
09:52 'Cause there are more people in the league today
09:54 playing just for the paycheck than you think.
09:56 And honestly, who can blame 'em?
09:57 I know I'm not.
09:58 But when there's an opportunity to root for someone
10:00 who appears to be operating with a love for the game,
10:02 a desire to leave their own legacy,
10:04 and has repeatedly shown signs of growth and resilience,
10:06 I'm gonna take it.
10:07 At the end of the day, Brawny being compared to his father
10:10 was always going to happen.
10:11 It was inevitable.
10:12 However, people shouldn't allow the comparison
10:14 to rob them of the ability to view, judge,
10:17 and appreciate Brawny as an individual.
10:19 He's overcome a lot to get here,
10:20 and he'll have to push through even more
10:22 if he wants to reach the places he ultimately intends to be.
10:24 But if I've learned anything about him
10:26 over the years of filming him up close
10:28 or watching from afar,
10:29 he's always up for the challenge.
10:31 ♪ ♪
10:33 ♪ ♪
10:35 ♪ ♪
10:37 ♪ ♪
10:39 (upbeat music)