It’s evident that LeBron James’ presence on the Los Angeles Lakers influenced the team to draft Bronny James. However, Bronny still seems to be somewhat in denial about it.
The Lakers held an introductory press conference on Tuesday for Bronny James and fellow rookie Dalton Knecht.
The reporter asked the younger James about his decision to leave USC early, despite having an underwhelming freshman season. The reporter also inquired about how much LeBron’s status as an active player factored into Bronny declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft.
The 55th overall pick tried to downplay the father-son narrative by making a claim that raised some eyebrows.
For me, I always try to put that narrative [aside],” said Bronny. “Trying to get my name out myself. … I’ve never really had a thought of me going to play with my dad. That’s always there … but it wasn’t a main focus of mine.”
Several fans on X were completely dubious about Bronny stating that he had never thought about playing with LeBron. After all, LeBron himself has been very vocal about the idea of teaming up with his eldest son in the NBA.
In all fairness to Bronny, there’s probably no answer he could have given that would have appeased everybody. The 19-year-old also seemed to be a little nervous in front of a slew of media members.
Given his status as LeBron’s son, Bronny will have one of the most highly scrutinized rookie campaigns in recent memory. More difficult questions are likely to come as the season rolls along.
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