LeBron James’ youngest son Bryce James is next in line for overwhelming public exposure and media scrutiny. With his elder brother already making it to the NBA, the public attention falls on the 17-year-old. A few months ago, several reports stated that the 4-star prospect already received college offers from Duquesne and Ohio State. While it didn’t irk any reaction from the hoops fans, the latest ranking for the class of 2025 has left him in a rage.

On3 Sports recently released the top 100 ranks for the class of 2025 with AJ Dybantsa, a 5-star recruit topping the list. Meanwhile, they ranked Bryce James was ranked as the No.100 overall player. Following the announcement, the Hoops nation rushed to social media to drop their opinions. Notably, Jeff Goodman, a renowned basketball analyst, reshared an X post and wrote, “Bryce James is not a Top 100 player right now.” 

While everyone scratched their heads, wondering if Bryce was ranked higher or lower, an NBA Insider dropped a polarizing take. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated took to his X handle and wrote, “Bryce James being a top-100 recruit is significantly worse than anything Bronny-related over last two years.”

Kevin Sweeny not only trashed Bryce’s ranking but also tagged his elder brother into the argument. There’s no doubt that Bronny James went through a lot of scrutiny in the last two years over his collegiate performance for USC and his controversial selection into the LA Lakers fold. However, Sweeny’s latest stirred up a debate. While everyone expected Bryce to perform better than Bronny considering the height difference and other reports, Insider’s comments irked a lot of reactions from fans.

On the other hand, Bryce’s NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) value remained at $1.2 million despite the full-blown criticism aimed at him. The 17-year-old is set to graduate high school in 2025 and head into the collegiate level. Until then, he has to put up with constant media setbacks.

Bryce James’ overall ranking irks nepotism argument: “Here we go again…”

In response to Kevin Sweeney, both naysayers and yes-man stormed the comments debating the issue. A fan wrote, “LeBron really had two kids and both of em ain’t that good.” But Sweeney quickly intervened and doubled it down Bryce’s throat, “Bronny is a good player, just not an NBA player. Bryce… not a good player.” The Insider took the opportunity to hit back at the brothers.

However, the senior NBA analyst Brian Windhorst had a polar opposite take on the Bronny-Bryce comparison ahead of the eldest son’s college stint at USC. The ESPN analyst said, “More naturally talented son appears to be Bryce, but the one who wants it so badly is Bronny,” while featuring on the Bill Simmons podcast. While Bronny has already reached where he aspired, Bryce still has a long way to go.

Another fan took a sarcastic dig at the Lakers and hinted at nepotism. They wrote, “Here we go again…. Another 2nd round Guaranteed contract.” Several weeks ago, the Purple & Gold side selected Bronny James with their 55th pick in the second round. This event came amidst the flooding criticism of LeBron James for pushing buttons to pick his son. Notably, Bronny’s draft came in months after his poor freshman year performance at USC, averaging 4.8 ppg.

Following that, a few more reactions were accusing the James family of rigging the ranking. A fan wrote “LePrivelage” and another fan wrote, “Nepo ranking.” Notably, Rich Paul, James’ sports once even tried to combat nepotism accusations in an interview.

Speaking after the draft, Paul added, “When you look at America as a whole, it’s built on the nepotism… The only thing you can go by is being thankful, treating people a certain way, and enhancing something that you were positioned for. They shouldn’t apologize for that. And Bronny shouldn’t apologize for who his dad is.”

Amidst the hate, Bryce James found rare support

Despite the polarizing views on the 17-year-old, a few fans stood up for the rising star. A fan called out hypocrisy in the haters as he wrote, “All the bronny haters gonna come out & hate saying Bryce > Bronny like they’ve ever watched either.” In the two years, Bronny James certainly had it difficult in the last two years. After overcoming a cardiac arrest and falling short in the preparations, the youngster couldn’t perform well.

And the fans at the arena weren’t kind either. The crowd constantly received the player with the loud chants of “Who’s your daddy?” and “overrated” chants. Nevertheless, Bronny crossed those hurdles and reached the Lakers’ locker room. Now, it’s up to him to secure his spot in the league for the longest time. On the other hand, Bryce James may as well go through similar treatment in the upcoming years. Probably. he might get some tips from his elder brother to deal with the trouble.

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.