In 2014, Doc Rivers made NBA history when his Los Angeles Clippers traded for his son, Austin, making him the first coach to coach his son in the league, which continued until 2018. Next season, the NBA will witness another father-son duo as the Lakers drafted Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft. This sets the stage for Bronny to join his father, LeBron James, on the Lakers’ roster, marking the first time a father and son will play together in the same NBA game.
Bronny’s NBA journey begins in the Summer League next month, which is expected to attract significant viewership, according to the Sports Business Journal. Doc Rivers highlighted the immense pressure Bronny will face, especially on social media. Rivers noted, “Unfortunately for Bronny, he’s going to be under an incredible microscope, and at a time where – I always call ’em the cowards of Twitter and Instagram – people can make comments without showing their faces. And usually, those comments aren’t very nice. And it’s too bad, because the kid seems like he’s a terrific kid and doesn’t deserve any of the negative stuff.”
The Lakers were expected to draft Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick, and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, reportedly advised other teams not to draft him earlier. Now that Bronny is headed to Los Angeles, his next step is the Summer League. However, Rivers warned that the scrutiny won’t end there; it will persist into the season, adding to the attention Bronny will receive during his rookie year.
“[Bronny’s] G League games will be packed early on, for sure,” Rivers said. “And if he plays well, then he’ll end up playing on the big league [Lakers]. It’ll be a story that keeps coming up, because there’s different benchmarks. Summer League, that’s going to be a story – how well is he playing in that? Training camp, there’s another story because now LeBron’s in training camp with his son. [At the] beginning of the year, is he going to play on the G League team? That’s going to be a story. Or if he’s not on the G League team and on the big team, that’s a story.”
In 2014, Doc Rivers made NBA history when his Los Angeles Clippers traded for his son, Austin, making him the first coach to coach his son in the league, which continued until 2018. Next season, the NBA will witness another father-son duo as the Lakers drafted Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft. This sets the stage for Bronny to join his father, LeBron James, on the Lakers’ roster, marking the first time a father and son will play together in the same NBA game.
Bronny’s NBA journey begins in the Summer League next month, which is expected to attract significant viewership, according to the Sports Business Journal. Doc Rivers highlighted the immense pressure Bronny will face, especially on social media. Rivers noted, “Unfortunately for Bronny, he’s going to be under an incredible microscope, and at a time where – I always call ’em the cowards of Twitter and Instagram – people can make comments without showing their faces. And usually, those comments aren’t very nice. And it’s too bad, because the kid seems like he’s a terrific kid and doesn’t deserve any of the negative stuff.”
The Lakers were expected to draft Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick, and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, reportedly advised other teams not to draft him earlier. Now that Bronny is headed to Los Angeles, his next step is the Summer League. However, Rivers warned that the scrutiny won’t end there; it will persist into the season, adding to the attention Bronny will receive during his rookie year.
“[Bronny’s] G League games will be packed early on, for sure,” Rivers said. “And if he plays well, then he’ll end up playing on the big league [Lakers]. It’ll be a story that keeps coming up, because there’s different benchmarks. Summer League, that’s going to be a story – how well is he playing in that? Training camp, there’s another story because now LeBron’s in training camp with his son. [At the] beginning of the year, is he going to play on the G League team? That’s going to be a story. Or if he’s not on the G League team and on the big team, that’s a story.”
