Has the Bronny James hate died down, now that he is a part of the NBA? It doesn’t appear to be the case. The has only seemed to increase, and would likely continue until LeBron James’ eldest proves his worth on the basketball court. The 19-year-old’s past continues to haunt him, with his abysmal stats during college and the NBA Summer League giving his critics the required ammunition. At the same time, however, Bronny also has several supporters on his side. One of them recently made their voice heard.

TMZ was able to catch up with four-time NBA champion, John Salley, earlier today. When asked about Bronny, the former player expressed that he was glad the young star was able to get drafted into the league, especially with all the reported criticism around him. Furthermore, he highlighted his counter belief for all the ‘haters’ who claim that Bronny only got a leg up because of his father’s influence.

“Listen, If my dad had the power, if my dad was the leading scorer, if my dad was able to take a pay cut so I could get a check, it’s like no other business” said Salley during the interview. Along with sending his flowers to Bronny, the former player also indirectly put the NBA All-Time scorer on a pedestal. This was seen once again when Salley was asked if LeBron should stay in the league long enough to play not only with Bronny but also his younger son Bryce, and he replied “Listen to me, Bron. Don’t ever quit, bro!”

Surprisingly, this was a complete 360 degree turn from the stance that the former member of the Detroit Pistons’ ‘Bad Boys’ had. In an interview with Vlad TV in January, when discussing LeBron possibly staying on in the NBA just to play with his son, the 60-year-old drew a comparison by highlighting how he chose to bow down from the professional league at the age of 36. Therefore, he knew the best time to quit, which he indicated that the Lakers star doesn’t. On top of that, Salley also stated that by staying on, the 39-year-old was taking some opportunities away from younger players.

“It’s not good for the league to have old players still hanging around. Takes away from advertisement. You’re trying to sell John Morant sneakers. You’re not trying to sell Bron’s. If you last 10 years, you are blessed.”

Bryce James, at 17 years of age, is yet to even make his college debut. By the time he will put his name forward for the NBA draft, LeBron James will be almost 41-42 years old. Therefore, it is still unsure whether playing alongside Bryce will be a reality for his father. However, thanks to a two-year extension, fans know that LeBron will play alongside Bronny for the foreseeable future. The same fact now seems to have been accepted by John Salley. After all, when it comes to Bronny, the former player has always held a supportive view.

John Salley defends LeBron James’ son defense after marijuana incident

Even before he was making waves in the basketball world, Bryce James got enough attention from the media and NBA fans. As a result, the news went viral back in 2020 when the then 15-year-old was reportedly smoking in one of his Instagram stories. Even though the story was soon deleted, it didn’t take long for the screenshots to spread on the internet. One of them caught the eye of John Salley, who didn’t think that Bronny was in the wrong.

During an interview with, ironically, Vlad TV, the former power forward stated “Marijuana is legal in the state of California. Trees are dope, and the deal is these are kids. Everybody that’s reporting on them are adults… Any adult that forget what their childhood is a shame, the fact that you are holding it against him. That’s what you do. They smoke weed.”

If both instances, spread over the span of four years, have taught us anything, it is that the Pistons legend may waver in his opinion about LeBron, but not so much about his eldest.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.