Like father, but not like son: why the LeBron James saga is a bluff
Fathers’ dreams and ambitions do not always benefit their children. Perhaps this is the case of LeBron James, who is exposing his son Bronny to an unprecedented farce. We know well who LeBron is: a global legend, the basketball player capable of scoring the most in NBA basketball, winner of four titles and three Olympic gold medals. Someone who at 14 already had reporters and cameras in high school and outside of home, because he was “the chosen one”, the chosen one, the player who would change the history of the game. And so it was, even if the road to his four titles was full of stumbles and difficulties.
The numbers don’t lie
LeBron is close to 40 years old and this season, he finally fulfilled his dream of having his twenty-year-old son Bronny on the team with the Los Angeles Lakers. Too bad Bronny isn’t up to the task. An undersized “sparring player” – he is 1.85 meters tall – not particularly gifted in the role of point guard and without scoring skills, with a rather stone hand. His numbers in college, on the other hand, don’t lie: he scored just over 4 points per game, with rather low shooting percentages. In short, a player that no scout would have put in their notebook for the most physical and competitive league in the world. But the Lakers, the most glamorous team on the planet, had to grab the boy who bears the words “James junior” on his shoulders. Partly to keep his father happy and partly because the Lakers are based in Los Angeles: “making films” in sport never hurts business.
It’s undeniable: seeing a father and son play basketball together at the highest levels is exciting. In Italy we had seen a never tamed Dino Meneghin (at the end of his career) and an immature Andrea Meneghin compete in different teams. LeBron who at almost 40 years old (he turns in December) still pushes the accelerator on the counterattack is always a spectacle. Bronny who struggles against anyone, a little less. The young man seems out of context, unlike his father who could afford to play another ten years at a high level.
