Social media erupted on Tuesday after the Los Angeles Lakers held a press conference to introduce their rookies Dalton Knecht, 23, and Bronny James, 19.
Bronny signed a “guaranteed” three-year rookie contract with the Lakers for $3 million per year.
LeBron and his wife, Savannah, attended the press conference. The proud father stood up abruptly when reporters asked Bronny questions about him.
Bronny also seemed annoyed by the many questions about LeBron. “I’m not in my dad’s pocket,” he told one reporter.
Bronny paused to thank the Lakers new head coach, Redick, and the team’s general manager, Rob Pelinka.
“I’m extremely grateful with everything that JJ and Rob have given to me,” Bronny said.
Later in the press conference, Redick corrected Bronny.
“Bronny, I wanna clarify something you just said, which is Rob and I did not give Bronny anything… Bronny has earned this through hard work.”
Social media and YouTubers lit into Redick after the press conference. A flood of comments criticized Redick for ignoring the fact that both he and Bronny are with the Lakers to appease LeBron James.
LeBron said repeatedly that he would sign with any NBA team that drafted his son. But sports analysts point out that if Bronny had a different last name, he would not have been drafted with his stats.
They said he is small, he can’t shoot under pressure, and he averaged 4.5 points per game in the 25 games he played at USC.
Fans accuse LeBron of using his influence to get the Lakers to select Bronny with the No. 55 pick in the second round of the NBA draft.
One person wrote: “This is so embarrassing. The best move is to say nothing and treat him like a regular draft pick. Uncle JJ didn’t need to do this.”
Another person wrote: “Poor Reddick being forced to lie for Lebron’s legacy.”
A third person wrote: “I mean, he probably did work hard lol. But under no circumstance was he deserving of being drafted.”
