The Los Angeles Lakers have made the decision to look past the inevitable media outcry and create the first father-son duo in NBA history. Four-time MVP LeBron James is now teammates with former four-star recruit Bronny James, and the response has been as chaotic as expected.
The younger James closed out Summer League in promising form, thus temporarily pressing pause on the media's objections, opening the door for his peers to voice support.
Bronny James was selected at No. 55 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. It's a late second-round pick that has never produced an All-Star in a previous holding of the annual selection process, but the selection of James yielded a powerful response nonetheless.
In an article published by Brendan Marks, CJ Moore, and Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, five-star recruit Cayden Boozer, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, weighed in on the James' situation.
"He’s getting a lot of hate for no reason, just because he’s LeBron’s son. LeBron has a lot of haters...He’s still a rookie. He was the 55th pick. I don’t know why they’re expecting, like, that he’s supposed to be the next generational player. He has to become his own player. You have to let that happen."
Carlos Boozer added his two cents, touching on how absurdly early the sons of NBA players have to answer questions about their legitimacy based on who their father is.
"Our kids have to adapt to that early in life, right?” Carlos Boozer said. “They’d hear in fourth or fifth grade, ‘I know who your dad is.’"
Most are aware of the fact that Bronny James has faced unrealistic expectations throughout his life and playing career, but it's interesting to hear it told from a peer's perspective.
Cayden Boozer empathizes with Bronny James as sons of NBA stars
Carlos Boozer was a two-time All-Star, 2008 All-NBA Third Team, and 2003 All-Rookie Second Team honoree. He also helped the Duke Blue Devils win the 2001 NCAA Championship, earning All-American honors in college in 2002 and at the high school level in 1999.
Boozer also finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in 2006-07, averaging 20.9 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game before helping Utah reach the Western Conference Finals.
Fast forward to 2024 and Boozer's son, Cayden Boozer, is one of the most thrilling prospects in the country. He's a five-star recruit who has received offers from the Arkansas Razorbacks, Duke Blue Devils, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Kentucky Wildcats, Miami Hurricanes, and North Carolina Tar Heels.
Despite the success that Cayden Boozer has already achieved, Carlos Boozer has directly acknowledged how some members of the general public still perceive him as nothing more than an NBA player's son.
It's a strange narrative considering how many of the stars of this and previous generations were the children of NBA players. That includes four-time NBA champions Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whose fathers, Dell Curry and Mykal Thompson, played long careers in the Association.
James was nowhere near the college player that Curry or Thompson were, of course, but second-generation players have populated the NBA for quite some time.
James will face significant expectations based on who his father is, as well as how poorly he played during his freshman season with the USC Trojans. The reality remains, however, that he was a four-star recruit whose year at USC was greatly impacted by the fact that he went into cardiac arrest.
Sympathy is tough to come by when LeBron James is a part of the conversation, and talking heads get paid millions to discredit him. Unfortunately, Bronny James is now learning that first-hand.