Bronny James made his buzzy NBA debut this week in front of a rapturous home crowd — but not everybody was as enthused.
The 20-year-old rookie suited up alongside his father LeBron James during the Los Angeles Lakers season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, October 22, becoming the first father-son duo in NBA history.
While the moment drew a standing ovation from the Lakers fans in attendance, it elicited a massive eye roll from ESPN analyst Chris Russo.
“This might be fun for LeBron. Nobody in America cares that Bronny James played three minutes and grabbed one rebound at 11 o’clock at night in the opener,” Russo, 65, said on ESPN’s First Take Wednesday, October 23. “This is supposed to be a moment that America is supposed to resonate with? I mean, come on.”
While Russo pledged his support to Bronny, saying “I love the kid,” he criticized new Lakers head coach JJ Redick for inserting Bronny into the game.
“The idea that he put him in for three minutes, he grabbed a rebound, had a couple shots and this is the greatest moment in professional sports?” Russo argued. “I mean, we gotta be serious!”
Russo added, “Sorry folks, I ain’t buying it! You guys can go crazy. Call me an ogre! Call me anything you want! I can’t get into it.”
The sentiment was shared by former ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb, who is now the men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
“There’s just no world in which this is about winning, or about basketball, or in any way normal or acceptable for a team that wants to win a championship in the second quarter,” Gottlieb, 48 said on his Fox Sports Radio show Wednesday. “They treated Bronny like he’s a Make-A-Wish kid.”
Bronny played three minutes in his debut, going 0-2 from the floor. The Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 110-103.
“It’s always been family over everything,” LeBron told TNT’s Taylor Rooks with Bronny by his side. “I lost a lot of time because of this league, committing to this league. Being on the road at times, missing a lot of his things.”
LeBron added, “To be able to have this moment where I’m working still and I can work alongside my son, it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
