Good, bad, and the ugly. While it’s good for the business, it’s definitely too much exposure for the young gun before even setting foot on an NBA court. Bronny James has had it difficult since his high school days. Despite the chants of ‘nepotism’ constantly echoing inside every arena he visits, the 19-year-old has slowly but steadily reached his destination. The place where he will create history with LeBron, tipping off his pro journey. However, before that, his former teammate made an important yet scary observation known.

Kyle Mangas, who has currently signed with the Indiana Pacers, played a game for the LA Lakers alongside Bronny in the Summer League. This was enough for the 25-year-old to feel the rising star’s suffocating experience. Speaking of the media exposure to Ahn Fire Digital, Mangas said, “There’s so much media surrounding him. We would get off the bus at our hotel, and there’d be 250 people waiting for him to get off just to film and walk into the hotel.” 

It’s certainly bizarre to have hundreds of camera flashes popping in your face before you’ve accomplished something or have anything to say in your defense. Mangas continued, “You’ve got to feel for a kid like that, there’s just a lot of pressure and publicity, and that’s hard to get away from sometimes. [I] think he handled it pretty well, from what I saw.” There’s no denying the brutal honesty here, and, in fact, the hooper also indirectly hinted at the media’s fault here for traumatizing a teenager.

Since Bronny James’ underwhelming freshman year display at USC, several media outlets and analysts have made their bread and butter while thrashing the mighty LeBron James’ son, for basically nothing that the teen is in control of. And, when the Lakers selected him in the most recent NBA draft, the community of critics regrouped again to claim that he didn’t deserve a spot. Well, if he does not deserve the limelight, then why do these same people show up wherever the kid goes with their cameras?

Stephen A. Smith blames LeBron for the hell pouring down on Bronny James

It’s almost a part of the James family. No one can escape the overblown media attention, probably even if they are in disguise! And, if you’re Bronny James and your dad publicly announced to play alongside you in the NBA, then it’s a death trap. At least that’s what Stephen A. Smith thinks. “There’s no crime in that whatsoever. You can want that. But when you’re LeBron James and you put the word out… LeBron is entirely and completely culpable for any kind of critique coming in Bronny’s direction at this juncture.” 

However, on the other hand, Bronny James seems to have gotten immune to this kind of negative attention. Speaking at the Lakers’ introductory press meet after the NBA draft, the young gun handled the hungry media with sheer diplomacy and maturity. “I’ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life, so it’s nothing different. It’s more amplified for sure, but I’ll get through it,” Bronny said.

We don’t think anyone will have a problem if Bronny James just gets a season to play with no health issues and showcases his talent. After that, if he doesn’t succeed, then so be it. But no one can now change the reality, the Lakers have already drafted the young star. So just give the boy a chance and let JJ Redick work his veteran magic around him, will you?

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.