Bronny James, the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, has received immense attention from the media ahead of his rookie year.
As LeBron James‘ eldest son, Bronny has become accustomed to the spotlight. Evidently, when the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him, the decision was met with mixed reactions.
For starters, James Jr. had a lackluster run with the USC Trojans during his college career. He averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game in his sole season with the Trojans.
Despite that, the 20-year-old heard his name called during the 2024 draft night. While it was essentially a dream come true for him, it also took away fans’ attention from a certain rookie.
The Washington Wizards used their No. 2 overall pick to welcome Alex Sarr to the organization. Although the French center is 7’1″, he hardly achieved stats that made him worthy of being drafted so high.
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas believes the Wizards’ rookie would have been labeled a bust if it wasn’t for Bronny grabbing the media’s attention. Agent 0 made these comments on a recent episode of Gil’s Arena.
“So nobody knows nothing about the top 15 picks? That is the problem here that they’re focused on the 55th pick in the NBA draft and everybody else, the top five picks get to go through the league like nothing happens,” Arenas pointed out.
He further added: “If there’s no Bronny, the kid from the Wizards would be called a bust today. If you take Bronny out he will be last in preseason. As a number two pick in the draft, he’s busting out. … You’re at the bottom with LeBron James’ son. Your rank in preseason first three games [is] 493!”
To be honest, it’s indeed concerning how little Sarr has been criticized for being unable to transition his game to the league. After all, he was the second overall pick of the draft.
It’s obvious that being the son of arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, fans will naturally be more interested in his career. However, many tend to forget that James Jr. barely made it to the league.
He was a late second-round draft pick. On the other hand, Sarr was among the top 3 played in the same draft.
In all honesty, the Wizards’ decision to go with Sarr made little sense. Before coming to the league, Sarr had averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in the NBL. By no means do these numbers justify Sarr’s placement among the top rookies of the class.
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