Ahead of the deadline for players to withdraw, Bronny James confirmed on Wednesday that he’ll remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.
But while James is the most famous prospect in this year’s draft, he’s also become one of the most difficult to discuss, as his status as LeBron James’ oldest son looms large.
On Thursday’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith did his best to address the complicated nature of the younger James’ draft outlook. And in doing so, he floated a conspiracy regarding ESPN’s draft rankings, which currently slot the former USC guard as its No. 54 overall prospect — just weeks after he was listed its No. 98 prospect.
“So much of what’s transpiring seems so transparent, it’s insulting,” Smith said. “Bronny James is ranked 98th on the talent pool. He goes to the NBA combine and it drops 44 slots to 54. And the Lakers have the 55th pick in the second round. I mean, really? He didn’t drop 38 slots, to 58 or 60. He didn’t drop 50 slots to 48. Oh no. Right around the number where the Lakers get the pick.
“In other words, so if we pick him, it’s justified because, ‘Look, they had him ranked 54th and we had the 55th pick.’ I mean come on, man.”
Smith went on to compare the situation to LeBron’s lack of subtlety in starting a podcast with JJ Redick, who now happens to be the frontrunner for the Lakers’ head coaching job.
“I guess one plus one really does equal four. I mean, it’s just the math. You can’t make this stuff up,” Smith said. “At some point in time, it’s like too much looks too damn obvious. And so I look at Bronny James and I’m like, ‘Man I’m rooting for this kid. Great kid. Wish him nothing for the best. Wonderful family, wonderful kid, all of that other stuff.’ But when stuff like this happens, it just invites cynicism and skepticism. And that’s totally unfair to that kid, because he did nothing to warrant that.”
Stephen A. Smith finds it awfully convenient Bronny James is now ESPN’s No. 54 prospect when the Lakers have the No. 55 pick.
“So much of what’s transpiring seems so transparent, it’s insulting… at some point in time, it’s like too much looks too damn obvious.” pic.twitter.com/A3e7chX1ND
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 30, 2024
It’s not difficult to connect the dots of what Smith is getting at. While he might not say it outright, the First Take host is seemingly implying that his network’s ranking of Bronny James has been influenced — whether it be by the Lakers or James’ camp — to help the team justify using its second-round pick on the 19-year-old guard.
For what it’s worth, Bleacher Report and CBS similarly rank James 55th and 56th, respectively, while The Ringer (69th) and NBADraft.net (79th) are lower on him. In its latest mock draft, ESPN projects Bronny to be taken in the late-second round, albeit by the rival Boston Celtics, one pick before the Lakers would be on the clock (could you imagine if that actually happens?)
As for Smith’s larger point, it does seem awfully convenient that draft rankings like ESPN’s rank Bronny right around the range where the Lakers will be picking, but that could also be influenced by that being his likeliest destination. Still, it’s hard to imagine that ESPN executives or draft analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo will are thrilled with one of the network’s most prominent personalities implying their rankings have been influenced by ulterior motives — even if LeBron and Bronny becoming the NBA’s first father-son duo in Los Angeles is beginning to feel like an inevitability to most.
[ESPN]
