Stephen A. Smith cautions Bronny James to do the needful as Los Angeles Lakers teammate and father LeBron James approaches retirement.
Bronny James needs to prove his worth with the Los Angeles Lakers before LeBron James retires, says Stephen A. Smith
LeBron James created NBA history playing alongside his son Bronny James for the Los Angeles Lakers. But since then, the younger James has seen sporadic time on the court. Nevertheless, he gets a chunk of playing time with the G-League outfit.
However, those outings have not been very fruitful as he has struggled to score efficiently. He has also not held down the defensive side of things in those games either. Lakers two-way contract players outplayed him in both games.
That has caused many to bring up the nepotism angle again, the primary question being: is he worthy of a place in the NBA? He also holds a four-year contract with most of it already paid out in the form of guaranteed money.
The NELK Boys had ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith on their podcast, Full Send Podcast. While talking about LeBron James and the time he is left in the NBA, host Aaron Steinberg asked the longtime analyst what he thought of the future of Bronny James.
Bronny James did not do what it took to earn a spot on an NBA roster. He’s a wonderful kid. But the reality is that now that this has happened….. at some point you as Bronny, you need to say, ‘I don’t want this anymore, this was nice….. but now I gotta go earn my stripes’. It’s on Bronny.
Stephen A. Smith on Bronny James
Stephen A. Smith acknowledged that the 20-year-old did not have the best college seasons. But he has to utilize his time in the G-League to develop himself. Otherwise, it might be difficult to hold down a roster spot once LeBron James retires.
Stephen A. Smith reveals when he feels LeBron James will retire
Prior to coming to the Bronny James discussion, the question the hosts of the Full Send Podcast asked the analyst was about LeBron James. In particular, it was about how long he thinks the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is going to play. In response, Smith weighed in:
I think LeBron will retire next year. This season and then next season and then I think he will call it a career. I’m guessing. LeBron’s a top 5 top 6 player in the league right now. I think it’s a lot to ask, to expect him to wanna play after next season, which will be year 23. I think that will be it.
Stephen A. Smith on LeBron James’ retirement
The 57-year-old analyst acknowledged that many would like to see if the four-time champion would stick around until his younger son Bronny James would play. But he also knows that it will be too much of a load on the soon-to-be 40-year-old.
The Akron native has made it clear that he will not wait until his ‘wheels fall off’ moment to decide when to retire. This could indicate that the superstar has a plan in his mind. Smith believes that plan is to end it after the 2025-26 season.
