Basketball fans are eagerly anticipating the 2024-25 NBA regular season, which promises a historic moment: LeBron James and his son Bronny playing together on the Los Angeles Lakers, marking the first time a father and son have shared the court as professional players. Yet, with this excitement comes scrutiny, as Bronny’s preseason performances have drawn significant criticism. Now, former Golden State Warriors star Gilbert Arenas has stepped in to support him.
On his podcast, Gil’s Arena, the three-time NBA All-Star addressed the criticism directed at Bronny for his preseason outings with the Lakers. “Hey, can anybody tell me what the number one pick scored last night? How about the number two pick? The number three pick? So nobody knows nothing about the top 15 picks,” Arenas began, shifting the focus of the debate.
“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… Thank god we got Bronny in our draft,” Arenas remarked, highlighting what he sees as unfair expectations placed on LeBron James’ son.
Arenas further critiqued the media’s tendency to seek sensationalism as a key reason for the intense spotlight on Bronny: “If you like the clicks and you want to talk about the young fella, how bad he’s doing, because I know it’s going to happen, his daddy has a triple-double, he played one minute, we’re going to talk about, oh he was over two, trash! Can’t do that.”
Head coach Gilbert Arenas of the Enemies runs out during introductions against the Trilogy during BIG3 Week Six at Comerica Center on July 23, 2022 in Frisco, Texas.
How are the top NBA rookies faring in the preseason?
The first overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks, has played two preseason games against the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 22.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
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The second pick, Alexandre Sarr, also from France, plays for the Washington Wizards. He has appeared in three games, averaging 22.9 minutes, 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Meanwhile, the third pick, Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets, averaged 21.6 minutes, 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists across his two preseason games.
Bronny James’ numbers
Selected 55th in the draft, Bronny James has averaged significantly fewer minutes than his higher-drafted peers. In his first three preseason games with the Lakers, he played just 11.9 minutes per game, contributing 0.7 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.3 assists on average.
