The Social Media Impact of Bronny James Being Drafted by Lakers

Apologies for taking off last week! Between food poisoning and July 4th, it was one very eventful week to say the least.

The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny James (LeBron's son) with the 55th pick in this year’s draft. Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard the news.

This will make LeBron and Bronny the first ever father-son duo to play simultaneously and as teammates as well. A pretty impressive feat for the James’.

But, this left two questions in everyone’s minds. Did Bronny deserve to get drafted (because of his lack of NCAA success) and get drafted by the same team his dad is on?

Would this have happened to anybody, but LeBron? I don’t think so, but that’s the LeBron effect on the NBA and sports in general.

A lot of words being used to describe the news and one that I had to look up was nepotism. In case you didn’t know, nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs.

But in a USA Today article I read last week, NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski said, "I don’t want to hear these charges, people talking about nepotism. The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don’t want to hear it all of a sudden because Bronny James’ father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league."

He is totally right! But, come on. LeGM does make somewhat of an impact on the Lakers decisions, even if new coach JJ Redick didn’t say it played a major role in drafting Bronny. I don’t think anyone is publicly from the Lakers or other NBA teams are calling this nepotism, but it needs to be said.

In an article by ESPN, LeBron and Bronny’s agent Rich Paul would only let Bronny work out for the Lakers and Suns. Limiting his options to his father’s team and Phoenix.

So how did the social media world react to the news? Let’s take a look 👀

Of course, the comments seemed about the same across the board. “Pass me the ball daddy,” “Don’t trade me daddy,” and the list goes on and on.

While I understand the trolling because he is LeBron’s son and they will be playing for the same team. Is it justified? Definitely not. LeBron is one the of the greatest NBA players of all-time and will always receive a mixture of love and hate.

We will have to wait and see how Bronny performs in his rookie season to see if he can live up to the hype and eventually make a name for himself in the NBA.

Only time will tell…