RELATED: The Bronny James recruiting saga ends at in-state USC
Depending on how things play out in the coming years, the 2023 recruiting cycle may be forever known as “The Bronny Class.” Lord knows there will be plenty of conversation on that front, no matter what the future holds for the hyperscrutinized McDonald's All-American. The tone of said conversation is all that’s left to be decided.
His weekend commitment certainly wasn’t the end of the omnipresent discussion about Bronny, his privilege or his future in basketball. Ultimately, his decision was sound. At USC, Bronny gets to stay close to his father and his Los Angeles home. He'll get to play alongside gifted creator and distributor Isaiah Collier, who helps fill the shot-creation gaps in Bronny’s game, and will help set him up for college success.
Most discussions about Bronny’s future come without a single moldy crumb of nuance. Depending on who you ask, the son of the greatest basketball player of all-time is either an overhyped nepo-baby that has had everything handed to him or a one-and-done star in the making who is destined to be an NBA lottery pick in 2024 and contribute to an NBA team right away.
The truth, obviously, is somewhere in the middle.
The discussion was always going to be a polarizing one, but the way the James camp handled Bronny’s recruitment didn’t exactly help matters. In trying to shield his son from the fire, LeBron James helped cause an explosion or two.
Announcing to the world that his goal is to play alongside his son in the NBA was certainly his choice. But blurting out that Bronny is already better than some NBA players was a worse choice. His intentions were definitely good, but LeBron has made his son’s basketball career look to the public like a sprint to the NBA and nothing more. His words also played right into the cottage industry on social media that monetizes loud takes about James and his son. And with Bronny off limits to the media for his entire high school career, carnival barking ran wild.
Random guys with Fear of God hoodies and Tik Tok accounts built followings by ridiculing Bronny. Sports influencers made money off of intentionally polarizing takes, and videos with titles like “Bronny James doesn’t deserve to be a McDoanld’s All-American” racked up millions of views.
Eventually, the four-star guard popped up as a projected lottery pick in reputable mock drafts – not because of his talent alone, but because of his high-end potential mixed with the fact that drafting him also means bringing in his father on a team-friendly deal.
All of it has set Bronny up to be one of two things: A one-and-done star at USC or a guy that is going to be called a failure by some of the loudest and most annoying people on earth. Thing is, it didn’t have to be this way. Nobody ever bothered to ask Bronny about his goals or thoughts on reaching the NBA in time to play with his dad because nobody was ever allowed to do so.
And for what?
What was everyone so afraid of here? Bronny is, by all accounts, a smart, well-adjusted teenager capable of doing an interview without sticking his foot in his mouth. Also, the questions he would have been asked wouldn’t have exactly been difficult ones. Let’s try some on for size, shall we?
“What colleges are you considering?”
“Have you set up any visits?”
“How is your process in 2023 different than when your dad was your age in the early 2000s?”
Recruiting questions are softballs by nature. Always have been. Always will be. Just say “the school feels like family” or whatever and move on, like everyone else. Nobody is going to ask about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Not to mention, allowing Bronny to do the occasional interview may have helped him manage expectations that were allowed to grow by the week due to his forced radio silence. A simple “I don’t think I’m NBA ready yet, but I’m grinding to reach my goal” would have done wonders to shape public opinion.
Of course, In the end, none of this will matter. James will either shine as a Trojan or he won’t. He’ll either play alongside his father in the NBA or he won’t.
But the road ahead didn’t have to be so hard and it definitely didn’t have to come with this much scrutiny.
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