Former USC Trojans guard Bronny James has been facing criticism since being selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. The Los Angeles Lakers selected James with the No. 55 overall pick to play with his father, NBA star LeBron James.
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay coach and Fox Sports Radio commentator Doug Gottlieb appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, and Gottlieb discussed the toxicity surrounding the former USC Trojan has less to do with him, but more because of his father.
“This has been such a dog and pony show,” Gottlieb said.”LeBron’s gone around the country chastising Stephen A. Smith and tweeting me for no reason because all I’ve ever done is be honest.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and the Lakers star had been going back and forth for quite some time following Smith’s comments regarding the rookie guard.
Gottlieb continuously posted criticism regarding the USC rookie on social media, and the Lakers star has not responded well to his son’s criticism. He went to social media to make fun of Gottlieb’s team for ending with a 3-24 record in Gottlieb’s first season coaching the program.
“Sorry, I saw your son play in the Mission League. He was not one of the 10 best high school players in that league,” Gottlieb continued. “It was the best high school league in the country, but he wasn’t.
I didn’t say he stinks, I didn’t say he can’t play. I never said he can’t play at Green Bay. Just the evaluation was completely false.
The main criticism surrounding James has been that he is in the league because of who his father is. The Lakers’ star was vocal about wanting to play on the court with his son, and the two became the first father-son duo to play together.
No one was fighting over him to be a second-round pick,” Gottlieb added. “JJ Redick saying he earned all of this. What are we even talking about?”
Gottlieb emphasized that if James becomes a strong player and continues to develop, that will be a great scenario for the rookie. To Gottlieb, the issue is the way James’ father is responding to criticism.
“So again, if he develops into an NBA player, great. If this path makes him into something that we didn’t see coming, awesome. But don’t (expletive) us and then chastise us for giving honest basketball opinion. I don’t think I made it personal, and he quote-tweeted me,” Gottlieb said.
James split his rookie season between the NBA and the G League with the South Bay Lakers. In the G League, James played well and started in each game he was a part of. With injuries to the Lakers, James spent much of the second half of the season with Los Angeles.
With the Los Angeles Lakers, James has averaged 6.7 minutes and 2.3 points per game. He is also averaging 0.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists. With the Lakers making a playoff run, James is seeing the court much less often, but still working hard to develop as a player.
The Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night and are down 1-2 in the series. The next matchup will be on April 27 at 12:30 p.m. PT at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
