Bronny’s Burden

One of the things you can count on in life is when you get hyped up, there will be plenty of people ready to pop that balloon.

It hasn't really happened yet with LeBron James Jr., but it’s getting closer.

We listened to a basketball podcast after Peach Jam and the hosts very delicately, even deferentially, said that at 6-2, Bronny is not the player his father is and may never be.

Bronny is 14. No one has any idea how he’s going to mature in 10 years, either physically or psychologically.

What we do know is that he’s a smart player who has been around one of the game’s greatest players all his life.

It doesn’t mean he’s going to to match his father’s accomplishments or that he’s going to grow to 6-8. It just means he has an opportunity and window that most people don’t.

It also means that as he does mature, people are going to increasingly put him under a microscope. You hope the kid never has to publicly deal with poor choices. All people make poor choices at times. Not all of us carry the extra weight of a famous father’s name when they’re exposed.

The best advice for most of us is just to imagine that his first name is something else, say Frank.

Frank James is a promising 6-2 high school player who has shown some really good stuff. But like most 14 year olds, you have to check back in four years. He may mature into a legitimate can’t miss prospect. It’s also possible that other people surpass him as they mature.

For Bronny himself, the best advice is first to be happy that he has a grea and loving father. And it’s also to not worry too much about your name but rather who you are. Everyone has their own path. You can draw many admirable things from your dad but you certainly can’t be your father anymore than Michael Jordan’s kids could be theirs.

Dealing with that sort of attention won’t be easy but as much as possible deal with it on your own terms.