Nepotism debates surrounding LeBron and Bronny James stem from a longstanding stigma in America

LeBron James stood on the court next to his son Bronny and couldn't help but glance over at him to take in the moment. The duo wore matching Los Angeles Lakers jerseys with “James” and “James Jr.” embroidered in big purple letters on their backs.

“It was like the matrix or something,” LeBron said afterward. “It just didn’t feel real.”

The Lakers helped the 39-year-old James realize a yearslong dream of playing alongside his son when they drafted Bronny with the 55th overall pick in June, making way for them to become first father-son pair to play in an NBA game together in a preseason matchup on Oct. 6.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has described the draft pick as “magical," while his organization has drawn criticisms about whether Bronny would have earned the opportunity if his father wasn't one of the game's greatest players. Those objections — albeit met with widespread excitement for the James family — reignited conversations about nepotism in sports and how powerful figures leverage their influence, while underscoring the stigma around kids following in the footsteps of a successful parent or family member.

“There’s always going to be people who are saying that things are nepotism,” said Alice Leppert, an associate professor of media and communication studies at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. “There’s going to be some cynical assumption that strings were pulled and basically that things are not fair.”

That's often based on people's desire to believe in a meritocracy, Leppert said, referring to the system where someone gains status or rewards based on his or her abilities, not wealth or social status.

“In general, we don’t live in a meritocracy,” Leppert added. “We want to live in a meritocracy, and that’s why we get these sorts of debates.”

For centuries, children born into rich and powerful families have inherited businesses, stardom and endless resources for success — a conspicuous display of power in Hollywood, politics and sports.

Critics of nepotism argue that those without the same access to resources — i.e. producers and directors in the entertainment industry, scouts and training facilities in sports — are left at a significant disadvantage when it comes to opportunities.

Others question why a practice so ingrained in society is being even being mentioned.

“I don’t want to hear these charges, people talking about nepotism," former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said during the NBA draft. “The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don’t want to hear it all of a sudden because Bronny James’ father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league.”

There have been about 100 instances in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played. Those young men stepped into the league after the father's career ended, but they include Stephen and Dell Curry, Kobe and Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, Bill and Luke Walton, among others.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. played together with the Seattle Mariners during parts of the 1990 and 1991 MLB seasons. Hockey great Gordie Howe played with sons Marty and Mark for the Houston Aeros in the WHA and the New England/Hartford Whalers in the WHA and NHL.

In the 65 schools that compete in major college football, there are at least 25 instances of family members on the same coaching staff, according to an Associated Press examination of coaching rosters in 2022. In the NFL, 16 of the league’s 32 owners inherited their teams from family, per a study done by USA Today.

“I think we’re resigned in this country to the fact that if you own it, you can do whatever you want with it,” said David Grenardo, a law professor and sports law expert at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. “So I’m the owner. I can pass it down to my kids ... And that’s somewhat acceptable because that person has the right to do with their property what they want.”

That acceptance changes when it comes to athletes, Grenardo said.

"That is where we are completely uncomfortable with the idea of someone getting an opportunity that they did not deserve," he said, noting the intrigue of watching the best compete against the best in sports.

“So then when you have a situation where someone who may not be perceived as the best is getting an opportunity over someone else, and now it’s not a meritocracy, now it’s become political, now it becomes, ‘well whose kid is that?’” Grenardo said.

That's where nepotism conversations have sprouted around Bronny, whose critics have argued that he was unproven before being drafted and has earned more attention than almost any other late second-round pick in NBA history.

After recovering from cardiac arrest over a year ago, Bronny played one season at Southern California before entering the draft. He has been praised for his athleticism, definsive ability and work ethic but averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds while starting six of 25 games for the Trojans.

“Part of this discourse with LeBron and his son Bronny is that he is a visible African American athlete,” said C. Keith Harrison, a professor specializing in sports and business management at the University of Central Florida. “And for some reason it’s being perceived that he’s not going to leverage any power and privileges that he has as an American, as an American Black man, as a successful athlete, entrepreneur or business person.”

Harrison pointed to plenty of examples of sports figures exercising their influence through nepotism: the Buss family's ownership of the Lakers; the Harbaugh family, which has an extensive football coaching lineage.

“If we have these monikers, or these approaches and these realities of nepotism, and people hiring who they are comfortable with ... when it comes to (LeBron) and his son Bronny, why is this popping up?” Harrison said.

Grenardo, separately, reached his own conclusion.

“Some of it may very well just be race,” he said. “That here’s a Black man who’s one of the few Black billionaires and that’s an American. And he is using his power like others have used their power as well, but ‘I don’t like it that he now is that powerful.’”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, left, and his son, Bronny James, pose for photos during the NBA basketball team's media day in El Segundo, Calif., Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, right, and his son, Bronny James, shake hands after an interview during the NBA basketball team's media day in El Segundo, Calif., Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - A fan holds up a sign for Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, and his son Bronny during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Phoenix Suns Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Thousand Palms, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James attends a news conference to introduce the NBA basketball team's NBA draft picks, Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and guard Bronny James warm up before a preseason NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang, File)

FILE - Former Detroit Red Wings great Gordie Howe, center, is flanked by sons Marty, left, and Mark as they try their new Houston Aeros uniforms in St. Clair Shores, Mich., Aug. 3, 1973. (AP Photo/The Macomb Daily, David Posavetz, File)

FILE - Newly-elected Baseball Hall of Fame member Ken Griffey Jr. conducts interviews with his father, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Sr. listening in after a press conference announcing that he and Mike Piazza were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

FILE - Bronny James takes questions from the media as he's introduced as the Los Angeles Lakers draft pick during the NBA basketball team's news conference in El Segundo, Calif., Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Amid all the fascination over the Los Angeles Lakers drafting Bronny James this year, there's a story about No. 55 picks that is worth remembering.

When the Portland Trail Blazers used the 55th pick in the 2009 NBA draft on Patty Mills, nobody expected much of anything. Nate McMillan coached Portland at that time and wasn't planning on keeping him on the team. Kevin Pritchard was the general manager then; he, too, wasn't planning on keeping Mills on the team.

But owner Paul Allen overruled them both and Mills got the final roster spot as a rookie. Allen was right in predicting that Mills had great potential. Mills became an NBA champion and Olympic medalist.

“I'm a competitor,” Mills — now with Utah and about to enter his 16th NBA season — said last season when reflecting on his professional and international career. “I always love challenges. I've always been that way.”

Bronny James is likely going to have to adopt that approach.

The son of the NBA's career scoring leader LeBron James, Bronny was the No. 55 pick in this year's draft by the Lakers — his dad's team. The Lakers knew when they made the pick that it would be a lightning rod for criticism, some saying that Bronny's numbers at USC last season hardly merited an NBA shot, others crying nepotism or that the team was simply currying favor with his father.

And yes, Bronny's father is happy about playing with his kid. No question.

“With Bronny being here too, I don’t want to take this moment for granted," LeBron James said. "I’ve always kind of never (given) myself an opportunity to kind of just take in the moments. But this is the moment that I may enjoy a little bit more than just like my actual self.”

If the worst statistical case happens for the Lakers — that Bronny James never makes a meaningful contribution toward winning — it wouldn't exactly be an indictment of the pick. In fact, the odds suggest that's exactly what's going to happen, because that's usually been the case with No. 55 picks.

Out of the last 30 drafts, there have been only two No. 55 picks who have scored more than 1,500 points in their NBA careers. Mills is one. E'Twaun Moore is the other. (Aaron Wiggins might get there this season.) Only 11 of those picks scored more than 100 points in the league. Nearly half — 13 of the 30 — have exactly zero points in their NBA careers. And a third of them never even got into a game.

Which begs the question: What's the big deal?

“I think the pressure on him — the inherent pressure on him — is a little different than most second-round picks, most 20 year olds,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “But I don't sense any nerves. For us, the thing we talk about with him is you just have to be more consistent with your energy and effort every day.”

That was not a criticism. Bronny James has had good moments and bad moments. All rookies do. But with “James” on the back of his jersey, with his father already having shared the court with him — the league's first father-son duo in a game — during the preseason and with the expectation that it'll happen for real once the regular season starts, everything gets magnified in a big way.

“I'm thrilled that I get to be a part of this. I really am. I've said that a few times,” Redick said. “It's cool as a basketball fan. I think it speaks to LeBron's certainly longevity but also his competitive stamina that he's able to still be doing this in Year 22. It speaks to the work that Bronny has put in to get to this point. ... He's such a great kid. He's a pleasure to be around.”

A look at No. 55 picks in recent years:

There were four No. 55 picks who appeared in an NBA game last season. They were Aaron Wiggins (the 2021 pick, 78 games with Oklahoma City), Patty Mills (the 2009 pick, 19 games with Atlanta and 13 more with Miami), Gui Santos (the 2022 pick, 23 games with Golden State) and Isaiah Wong (the 2023 pick, one game with Indiana).

Even going back to when the NBA draft was more than two rounds, there are only five players taken at No. 55 who have averaged at least 10 points in a season.

Mills did it six times. Mark Blount (drafted in 1997) had three such seasons, Moore (drafted in 2011) had two, while Kenny Gattison (drafted in 1986) and Em Bryant (drafted in 1964) each did it once.

And Blount is a bit of a technicality. He's recognized by the NBA as the 55th pick but was the 54th player selected. Washington forfeited its first-round pick that year, so that draft essentially went from No. 28 to close the opening round to No. 30 at the start of the second round.

Combined, all of the players who were the 55th name called at their drafts have averaged 6.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

They've scored a combined 28,364 points. That's 12,110 points less than LeBron James has scored by himself in regular-season contests.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

FILE - Sacramento Kings guard Colby Jones, left, and forward Jalen McDaniels guard Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 9, 2024. The Warriors won 122-112. (AP Photo/Randall Benton, File)

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, left, yells orders to the team while guard Bronny James (9) goes onto the court during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) looks on before a preseason NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

FILE - Oklahoma City Thunder's Aaron Wiggins drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series May 13, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

FILE - Miami Heat guard Patty Mills (88) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, March 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)

FILE - Indiana Pacers' Isaiah Wong dribbles during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, April 1, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Bronny James react on the bench during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)