Oct 22, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and forward LeBron James (23) warm up before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Austin Rivers doesn’t know exactly what Bronny James is feeling like.

He was playing for his father, not next to him, but if there are any former NBA players turned pundits who know what Bronny is going through, it’s Austin.

The son of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was on All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson and asked what kind of pressure he thought the eldest son of LeBron James could be facing. All Austin could do was shake his head before offering that it’d be 10 times what he faced.

“I had a lot, but my dad ain’t LeBron James, as great as he was,” Rivers said. “And he wasn’t playing on the same court. And my father was (not) still at whatever it is, Year 22, still one of the best players in the league for the Lakers, the most media coverage team in sports other than the damn Cowboys. I don’t even know who competes with this team.

“I don’t know. I can’t imagine him going into the game tonight and being able to think about just playing. Bro, my first game with the Clippers was catastrophic, man. It wasn’t that I was scared, but I was nervous, man, because I never played with so many people who wanted me to fail. It’s different; that’s a different type of thing. And I went from being a guy that people cheered for and embraced to being a guy that people were like, ‘Man…’ And that was like kind of, that took me by a little bit. And then I’m thinking every mistake I do, they’re gonna make a big deal of it.”

That led to Johnson asking Austin why he chose to play for his father — and the Clippers — in the first place.

“Yeah, I could’ve went to Boston, because that’s where I was supposed to go,” he admitted. “My pops called me and said, ‘Let me ask you something. We don’t really have a backup right now.’ And they were really good, that was ‘Lob City.’… But he was like, ‘Our backup’s not cutting it for us. I know your game. I know you can do this here.’ I was in the league, that was my third year in the NBA at the time. I was in New Orleans. I couldn’t stand playing there. I didn’t like my coach there.

“At that point, I’m like, I know this is better than where I’m at right now — it wasn’t even a thought. It wasn’t until I got there and the first game I’m playing, I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is a little different.'”

Bronny doesn’t have that same luxury because his NBA career will start with his father. At least for Austin, he had three years of NBA experience that predated playing for his father. For Bronny, that’s a freshman season at USC, which wasn’t what it amounted to be, especially after he suffered a cardiac arrest during summer workouts.

But Bronny made his debut for the Lakers on Tuesday night and checked in at the same time as his father. It was a cool moment that transcends sports, even if the younger James only grabbed a rebound in three minutes of playing time in Tuesday’s 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“He getting thrown in the fire too,” Rivers said in the pre-recorded episode. “They playing the Timberwolves. Like, this ain’t no midseason trade; they’re in like Detroit, they’re gonna throw him in there, and he’s going to get to play with his dad real quick, and it’s going to be a cool thing…It’s on a major network, first game of the year; everyone’s watching. They’re already announcing when he’s coming in. This has never happened…

“When have you ever seen them announce 50-something pick’s minutes Opening Night? I’ve never seen it. I couldn’t imagine…I feel for him because, bro, it’s just so much. It’s so much. He can’t even go out there and just hoop.”

As Austin Rivers pointed out, the weight Bronny carries is unprecedented.

Playing next to a father who’s not only a legend but still one of the league’s top players adds a layer of expectation that few can truly understand. Austin had years to figure out his place in the NBA before stepping into the shadow of family legacy, but for Bronny, the journey begins under the harshest spotlight imaginable.

The stakes were already high, and now, every little thing he does will be dissected by millions.

[All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.