Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith: ‘Anyone who criticizes’ Bronny James ‘just doesn’t know basketball’
Tuesday night marked an historic night in the NBA, as LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to ever be teammates.
They are also the first duo to be active NBA players at the same time, so it was even more unprecedented history than it already had been.
However, there have been critics of the entire ordeal from the start.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James, #9, dribbles the ball up the court against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter of their preseason game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 15, 2024. (Candice Ward-Imagn Images)
Bronny, of course, was drafted 55th overall by his father’s Los Angeles Lakers, despite starting only six of 21 games at USC last season and averaging less than five points per game.
However, Kenny “The Jet” Smith says the criticism is unwarranted.
“I just feel like anyone who criticizes Bronny just doesn’t know basketball,” the “NBA on TNT” analyst said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “He was a McDonald’s All-American, which means he’s one of the top-20 prospects in basketball at his age. He played at USC and didn’t play – that I think is the problem for him right now, that he didn’t play competitive basketball at a high level last year. Now, you jump into summer league and the NBA.
LeBron James, #23, and Bronny James, #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers, on the court for the first time during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 22, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
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“He was a second-round pick. What a second-round pick means, is it means you’re drafted strictly on potential. Your year is not your first year – it’s the summer after your first year. That’s why they draft most second-round picks. He deserves that, he was one of the top-five point guards in his class out of high school, that’s potential, and he deserves that. The only thing unique is he’s playing with his dad.
“We’ve had a lot of great players in our league. Shaquille O’Neal’s son was a really good high school player – he didn’t make the McDonald’s game,’ Smith added. “Carmelo Anthony has a son that’s really good right now. You can’t will that – you gotta make that. Bronny was one of the best 20 high school basketball players 12 months ago. He’s a prospect for the NBA, period.”
In fact, Smith says that there is another reason Bronny even fell to the Lakers in the first place: his cardiac arrest.
LeBron James, #23, and Bronny James, #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers, on defense during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 22, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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“What’s interesting about it, how I always think God works, if he never had the heart condition, he wouldn’t have been a Laker,” Smith claims. “He might have had a really good season and got drafted in the position that he shouldn’t have been drafted, and the Lakers wouldn’t have had an opportunity to draft him. That helps him play with his dad, because now, we never saw him play last year.”
Bronny missed both of his shot attempts in his three minutes on the floor Tuesday night, one of which would have been an assist from his dad.
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