Al Horford’s sister Anna Horford took a bit of a shot at Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James in a now-deleted post on X. Upon learning that James took the net from the basket in Cleveland, where he scored his first NBA points, Horford stated she felt for the players more talented than him who aren’t in the league.
“Bronny James playing with his dad is cool & all, but my heart breaks for the players who didn’t get drafted or who are stuck in the G-League knowing they’re legitimately stronger players than him.”
Al Horford's sister gives perspective on the LeBron/Bronny James father-son dynamic 🧐 pic.twitter.com/l7vcfgJxU2
— Ball Exclusives (@ballexclusives) November 1, 2024
Horford isn’t the first person to indicate that Bronny doesn’t deserve to be in the NBA and she won’t be the last. Just like the others before her, she unsurprisingly received a lot of backlash for this take.
Some fans pointed out that Anna herself has benefited from having ties to an NBA player. Would she have more than 59k followers on X today and be somewhat of an internet celebrity if she wasn’t Al Horford’s sister? Probably not.
Horford later said she wished Bronny would have a great NBA career, but that didn’t stop the abuse from coming her way. She was eventually forced to delete the post and I think it’s safe to say she won’t be speaking on this matter again.
At the end of the day, though, there is no denying that a big reason Bronny is in the NBA today is because LeBron James is his father. It was clear following his freshman season at USC, in which he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game after suffering a cardiac arrest, that he wasn’t ready to play in the league just yet.
Despite that, the Lakers still drafted Bronny with the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft to pair him with LeBron. Father and son being on the same team was and is quite special, and seeing them together on the court was incredible, but the younger James’ play since being drafted has proven he wasn’t ready.
Bronny averaged just 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Lakers. He wasn’t efficient either, shooting 35.0% from the field and 15.8% from beyond the arc.
Things didn’t exactly get better in preseason, as Bronny averaged 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. He also shot just 29.7% from the field and 8.3% from beyond the arc.
Following those displays, it was evident Bronny wasn’t going to get much game time once the 2024-25 season started and that has been the case. The 20-year-old has played in three games and has been on the court for just over eight minutes. He is averaging 0.7 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.3 steals per game as a rookie and I don’t expect those numbers to be a lot better by the end of the campaign.
Bronny could next potentially play for the Lakers against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at FedExForum, with the game tipping off at 8 PM ET. That might be his last opportunity for a while.
Bronny is expected to shuttle between the Lakers’ active roster and their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, following the end of this road trip in Memphis. All parties involved recognize that spending time in the minor league is what’s best for him in the long run.
Bronny isn’t good enough to play in the NBA today, but depending on how well his game develops by spending time in the G League, he could be good enough one day.
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