LeBron James is currently playing in his 21st NBA season. The 38-year-old has been phenomenal his whole career, and even at this age, he’s constantly putting out numbers. The big benefit of LeBron continuing at the highest level, especially for his fans, is the dream that he’ll get to play alongside Bronny James.
While the fans and LeBron himself are ecstatic and hopeful for the day, Charles Barkley has a slightly different opinion. As per Sir Charles, there will be added pressure on the youngster, and that can have massive consequences on their relationship.
Charles Barkley doesn’t believe in fairy tales
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LeBron has had this dream for a long time now. Over the years, he has expressed his wish to play alongside his son on several occasions. Going by the current situation, when Bronny is in college, the dream doesn’t seem too far-fetched now. He will be eligible for the 2024 NBA draft and if that happens, the LA Lakers will have to draft him to make King James’ dreams come true. LeBron on the other hand is showing no signs of slowing down, even at age 38. So, it’s a fair assumption as of now that we might get to see them represent the same franchise.
However, Barkley doesn’t think that such things should be the norm. On the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast, Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Candace Parker were in conversation. The NBA athletes and their kids playing professional basketball were brought up as a topic. Barkley said that he has seen several relationships being ruined because the same pressure is put on the kids of NBA stars. He said that in his own experience, his brother was expected to be good at basketball just because he was Charles Barkley’s brother.
Barkley said that the added pressure from the public affects the relationships as the expectations are a product of the greatness of NBA athletes.
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The anomaly in Charles Barkley’s eyes
Continuing with the topic, Barkley said that there have been 25-30 athletes whose kids were also able to do good in basketball. One athlete in particular has Chuck’s faith in him. He said that the Curry’s are an anomaly because he not only followed in his father’s footsteps but also exceeded all expectations.
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Sir Charles makes a solid point there because Stephen Curry has managed to carve his own legacy in the NBA. He is now considered one of the greatest athletes to have ever played the game. But, the same cannot be expected of everyone else.
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