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After defeating the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James was eager to return to the locker room. He wanted to watch the rest of his son Bronny James’ college basketball game. However, upon doing so, the four-time MVP was not a fan of one call made against the freshman guard.
Bronny’s USC Trojans took on the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, Arizona, in a nationally televised ESPN game. Early in the second half, the 19-year-old was preparing for a straight-line drive to the basket. However, just inside midcourt, he was called for a double dribble.
Bronny was in disbelief after the call, as was his father, who reacted in dismay on social media. LeBron shared a clip of the controversial play on his Instagram stories, captioning it, “Man, What!”
The turnover marked one of five for the 2024 NBA draft prospect and sparked an online debate about the validity of the call. Fans appeared to be divided. However, most would probably agree that it's nice to see LeBron sticking up for his son.
LeBron James and Bronny James both played on national TV on Wednesday
Wednesday marked a rare occurrence where a father-son athlete duo was featured on national TV. While Bronny James’ Trojans played on ESPN, LeBron James’ Lakers were featured on ABC.
However, their teams experienced drastically different results. Bronny’s Trojans fell 82-67 to the Wildcats. The loss marked their third straight loss, dropping them two games below .500 (8-10).
The freshman finished with 11 points, five rebounds, six assists, one block and one 3-pointer on 45.5% shooting in the loss.
LeBron, on the other hand, helped lead his Lakers to a critical 127-110 home win over the Mavericks. The win marked their second straight, bringing LA back to .500 (21-21).
The 39-year-old recorded 25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal and three 3-pointers on 52.6% shooting in the victory.
While LeBron is still playing at an elite level in Year 21, Bronny’s college career has gotten off to a rocky start.
Wednesday’s contest marked his second start for USC. In his first start on Saturday against Colorado, he went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting.
That game marked the 19-year-old’s third straight without a made field goal, as he shot a combined 0-for-7 in his previous two games against Washington State and Stanford.
Bronny has only played 10 games so far. So, he has plenty of time to turn things around. However, he will likely have to start displaying some more offensive consistency soon if he hopes to boost his ever-decreasing draft stock.
