Ken Griffey Jr. on Nightcap discussing the advice he gave Bronny James ahead of his NBA debut Photo Credit: Nightcap on YouTube

Very few athletes have had to live in the shadow of their father’s legacy like Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James has had to do. But perhaps the one who has done so the best, MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., knows exactly what kind of challenges Bronny has had to face.

Much like Bronny and LeBron did earlier this season in the NBA, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. made history when they became the first father-son duo to ever play on the same team in an MLB game in 1990.

We now know that Griffey Jr. would go on to be one of the greatest outfielders we have ever seen in the history of baseball and step out of his father’s legacy. But at the time, he faced similar criticisms as Bronny has early on in his career by those calling out the alleged nepotism that may have gone into him securing his spot as a Laker.

Griffey Jr.’s past makes him the perfect person to offer advice to Bronny on how he can pave his own path in the NBA. And he did that recently ahead of Bronny’s NBA debut, which he was in attendance for.

On Tuesday’s edition of Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Griffey Jr. discussed what he told Bronny ahead of his NBA debut, which included learning while watching LeBron on the court and to “be himself” instead of trying to live up to his father’s greatness.

“You’re gonna learn a lot by being able to sit there and be on the bench watching him. People say he needs to be in the G-League and he needs this and that. I’ll tell you what, I learned more sitting there watching my dad than anything. You look at all these quarterbacks who sit behind somebody and how good they end up becoming.

“They didn’t play, they got to sit and learn a system. Learn how to be a professional, learn how to take notes and watch film and do all these things to become a pro to go out there and be successful.

“Nowadays, these first round picks, they throw them right into the fire and I feel sometimes these kids can’t ready a Cover 2 or a Cover 3 or read where the protection every day. You see that everyday. You guys pick out that stuff.

“I did tell Bronny to just relax, enjoy it, be you. You are not gonna be him. Nobody is him. When I got there, my dad told me that this is your team, I am just here. And he was dad at the house and teammate at the ball park. But like I said, there were times that I rode home with mom. It was much safer.”

It may be tough for Bronny to have anywhere near the amount of success in the NBA as Ken Griffey Jr. had as an MLB player. But at least he is getting some good advice from one of the few people who have ever been in his shoes.

[Nightcap on YouTube]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.