ESPN Roasted For Kissing Up To Bronny James After Lakers' Nepo Pick
Did you miss ESPN's ridiculous Day 2 of NBA draft coverage?
It was expectedly a Bronny-Thon as the pundits at ESPN drooled for the Lakers' 55th draft pick on Thursday. Los Angeles was all in on drafting Bronny James on Day 2, and they finally did it.
Bronny's father and Lakers superstar LeBron James once again pulled a major move to dramatically affect the future of this franchise, and even though it's been a disastrous run, the folks at ESPN couldn't be prouder of everything LeBron's done for the Lakers, including drafting Bronny.
MIAMI - Adrian Wojnarowski talks before the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat during Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals on June 9, 2023 at Kaseya Center. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS - Bronny James of the USC Trojans looks on in the second half of a quarterfinal game against the Arizona Wildcats during the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2024. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LeBron did everything but hold a piece to general manager Rob Pelinka's head to draft Bronny. It was the worst-kept secret in the NBA for months: the prestigious Lakers were preparing to draft an underwhelming prospect to satisfy their star.
Once the pick was in, and NBA media started to glaze the James family with praise, ESPN poured on the praise for the Bronny pick, not for any skill reasons but because of the Father & Son narrative.
The Lakers, as OutKick's Chad Withrow tweeted, are no longer a serious franchise.
Meanwhile, the ESPN crew's credibility took hits as they tried justifying the Bronny pick, discussing it like it actually makes sense.
Embarrassing stuff …
WATCH:
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who once told Josh Hawley to eff off, pushed back against critics calling out LeBron's "nepotism."
How else could a small guard averaging less than five points in college get drafted by the Lakers?
Woj reacted, "People talking about nepotism. The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don't want to hear about it all of a sudden because Bronny James' father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league."
Stephen A. Smith was glad with the pick, adding that LeBron deserves to have autonomy and control over the Lakers.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith champions LeBron's control over Lakers. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
(Is Bronny ready for the NBA? Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com)
ESPN is not as slick as they think they are … fellow ESPN pundits have called out their network for overstuffing their NBA coverage with pro-Bronny programming. Even Kendrick Perkins acknowledges that Bronny is "not a pro prospect."
LeBron's influence aside, Bronny was predictably missing from many NBA draft boards. But the experts at ESPN are optimistic that Bronny is league-ready and will make the jump from an average college player to a dependable pro.
The folks on social media weren't buying ESPN's sugar-coated coverage on Thursday:
Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
Send a message: alejandro.avila@outkick.com