Bronny James’s NBA Summer League debut on Saturday for the Los Angeles Lakers was lackluster at best. However, the narrative on social media painted a slightly different picture.
For those who didn’t watch the game live and instead followed the action via updates from the NBA, it would have been easy to believe that James had dominated. When, in fact, he was far from impressive, recording four points on 2-of-9 shooting with two rebounds and two assists.
Among the dozen posts made throughout Saturday’s contest against the Sacramento Kings, half involved James. Likewise, despite being outscored by all but one member of the Lakers lineup, starters and bench, clips of both of his field goals were posted by the NBA’s account.
Fans even saw LeBron James’ reaction to his son’s first Summer League basket.
The coverage is predictable and seems harmless enough on the surface. After all, the NBA isn’t going to criticize the King’s son.
But therein lies the double standard.
Adonis Arms, a 26-year-old career G-Leaguer and former Texas Tech star, shined on Saturday, posting a double-double (32 points, 11 rebounds) in a 108-94 Kings victory. He received plenty of attention from the NBA on social media, but his biggest highlight came when he crossed up James, who stumbled backward before Arms nailed a 22-footer.
Conveniently, that highlight was missing from accounts for the NBA, ESPN and other outlets. Had the roles been reversed, each would’ve shared (ad nauseam) replays and clips from multiple angles of the play.
For Bronny, the weight of being the heir to one of the greatest players in sports – not just the NBA – history, is heavy enough. But the burden only grows when you add the ever-growing publicity train behind him and allegations of nepotism, which ultimately led to him joining Dad in L.A. unabated.
Bronny isn’t without talent and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he went on to have a respectable pro career. But before he has even stepped onto a professional floor for his first regular-season game, it seems the deck is only getting stacked higher and higher against him.
All the hype in the world can’t change the fact that the younger James isn’t among the top tier of NBA prospects. With every highlight shared and every low-light ignored, it isn’t excitement for him that’s growing – only resentment manufactured indirectly by the NBA.