UNITED STATES—Usually when you have the draft in the NBA it is big buzz, but not for 2024. It seemed like the NBA Draft came and went without the slightest hiccup. To be honest I don’t think half of America and NBA fanatics know who the #1 pick was. Let me inform you, it was Zaccharie Risacher who went to the Atlanta Hawks. FYI Zaccharie is a native of France. The #2 seed was Alexandre Sarr, also from France who was selected by the Washington Wizards.
The #3 seed, Reed Sheppard of Kentucky was chosen by the Houston Rockets, while the #4 seed was Stephon Castle of UConn. Castle was chosen by the San Antonio Spurs. Rounding out the top five was Ron Holland II from the G League Ignite who was chosen by the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons being the worst and I mean worst team in the NBA with a dismal record. You would think the worst team would get the first pick right? Yeah, the NBA is odd when it comes to their draft.
The point I’m getting at is for the past few years, there haven’t been major standouts or names for the NBA Draft. None of the top five have been chatted about, the big name every was talking about was Bronny James, who was drafted #55 to the Los Angeles Lakers; the same team his father LeBron James plays for.
Yes, we have heard LeBron talk for years that he wasn’t planning to retire until he got a chance to play alongside his son in the league. Here’s the problem, Bronny is not his father, and this is not a tale about nepotism, but it is about celebrity and how name recognition can help you in your career or society in general.
Bronny had only played at USC for a year, and he barely made a dent or made any serious noise that raised his status as a basketball elite. At best, he is an average player if not to a lesser extent. Bronny got an edge because of his father. I’m calling it like I see it no matter what others want to say. LeBron had a hand in helping his son get drafted and do I think he’s going to be in the starting lineup? I would hope not, but I can already tell you, you will see Bronny and LeBron on the court together, probably a lot sooner than most people expect. I almost guarantee you if Bronny James was not related to LeBron James he would not have been drafted.
I think the telling sign will be when LeBron James retires what happens with Bronny. Will he rise to the occasion and be the stellar athlete like his father? Fans of the league will just have to wait and see. I would argue it would be nice if more news or coverage revolved around the players who were drafted in the top 10, but I’ve barely heard a whisper about them on the national front. It is all about Bronny. Him practicing, him trying to prove his worth, what about the other players America? What are they doing? Just sitting around and hoping something happens for them? Where is the balance?
There isn’t any, the world we live in now is all about name recognition and sorry, but not sorry, Bronny James has that recognition because of his father despite if he has the actual talent or not. It is just proof even in the athletic arena, who you know matters.
Written By Davy Jones
