With the 2023 NBA Draft out of the way, the next draft class will likely consist of Bronny James. While the 18-year-old prepares for his debut college season with USC, chatter about his possible destination in the NBA continues to increase. The son of Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James, saw a bunch of haters descending upon him yesterday after a post from ESPN, revealing a 2024 mock NBA draft, went viral online.  However, Bronny fired back at the apparent disrespect via a 6-word warning.

Cameras have followed LeBron James’ oldest child for a long time. Bronny is no stranger to online hate and has always handled sensitive situations with class. He didn’t just sit back and let that be the case again this time, though.

Bronny James hits back at haters

On Wednesday, the official Instagram handles of ESPN and Sports Center put out a post showcasing their picks for the 2024 NBA mock draft. The post projected Bronny James as the 17th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks. It received responses from many people. LeBron James himself showcased his excitement by featuring the picture on his Instagram story with the caption, “Wellllll ATL shawty the #JamesGang will be pulling up!”

It wasn’t too long, however, before the haters started to descend and leave their negative remarks about the 18-year-old. It’s fair to say that the remarks definitely left a damper on what could have been a wonderful moment that both father and son could have looked back on.

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A few hours after the ESPN post, Bronny communicated with his 7,400,000 followers by posting a picture on his Instagram story. It featured him working out at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, the place where the USC basketball team usually practices. The picture was accompanied by a message titled “can’t wait to prove y’all wrong”, with a ‘head massage’ emoji concluding the sentence.

While the message can be interpreted as James providing a comeback to his trolls, it can also be considered as a message that encourages fans to not stop rooting for him.

Does LeBron James’ son deserve the hate?

People are quick to hate Bronny James as a player since they believe that all he carries with him is his father’s name. That, however, is not the only thing that makes him who he is.

Sharing a relationship with a legendary athlete is not always a guarantee for success in sports, as we have seen with the children of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, etc. Though he did not have as much of a successful high school career as his father, James still managed to graduate from being a four-star recruit to a five-star recruit and a possible pick in the Top 10 category. Given that he committed to USC in May and is already practicing on his future home court, he is determined to excel.

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It’s hard for us to predict what the future holds for James Jr. and whether he really can prove his haters wrong. All that the fans can do is hope that the young athlete retains the same amount of determination for the long run as well and lives up to the legacy created by his father.