It is not often that a late second-round pick becomes the biggest story of the draft but that’s the deal you sign up for when LeBron James is your father.
All things considered, Bronny James is managing to carve out a respectable name for himself after initial needless hype set him up to fail.
Bronny James is earning his stripes in the G-League, continuing to show an ever-improving game with glimpses of potential for the Lakers too.
After his recent scoring explosion for the South Bay Lakers, where he erupted for 39 points against the Santa Cruz Warriors, NBA analyst Nick Wright has leaped to his defense with the ultimate praise.
From LeBron James getting into fights with Stephen A. Smith over Bronny James to another analyst now defending his exploits, the younger James is fighting the narrative with hard work.
Bronny recently received an endorsement from his father as well after he led the undermanned Lakers in scoring in a recent NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, Wright has leaped to his defense and put the facts straight about people’s narrative surrounding the player, saying he’s got the ability to become a “top 5%” scenario for all second-round picks in NBA history.
After Cowherd tried to underplay his achievements by calling him a “late bloomer” who might be a rotational player, Wright launched a fierce defense.
Speaking on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Wright said: “You know what a rotational player is? A top 5% outcome for all second-round picks in NBA history!
“If he is a rotational player, it will end up being one of the best two or three picks of the entire second round of his draft.
“That is why the criticism of the pick, treating Bronny like he was a ‘Make-a-wish’ kid was wildly unfair. It was a totally reasonable pick and he’s now exceeding any reasonable expectations!”
Bronny James would have expected that his name means the coverage surrounding him would be unlike anything a second-round pick ever gets.
Having said that, the discourse had become ridiculous to the point where LeBron James was being “begged” to save Bronny from himself and take him off the court.
As Wright said, nobody expects a second-round pick, a late one at that, to remain in the league in five years’ time, let alone show glimpses of being a rotational player.
Granted, LeBron James didn’t help the narrative by calling Bronny better than some NBA players when he wasn’t even in the league or manufacturing the debut moment when he clearly wasn’t ready.
But since then, Bronny has been nothing but an exemplary professional who’s shown a tremendous ability to block out the noise and focus on improving his game.
It’s already bearing fruit in his performances.
