“I would tell LeBron to let his son be who he is. Just keep supporting as a dad,” retired NBA veteran Gary Payton had opined last year addressing the added pressure LeBron James‘ son Bronny might feel—especially with the four-time NBA champion’s public statements praising his son’s abilities. But how true is it? Well, if you ask Stephen A. Smith, he’d probably give you a list of reasons akin to Payton’s notion, which is exactly what he did in the latest podcast episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show…

In a take many would consider controversial, the insider tried to prove his point by comparing James’ parenting to Carmelo Anthony’s. He started, “All of these months, we have been hearing Bronny James, Bronny James, Bronny James. When have you heard about Kiyan? Particularly out of the mouth of Carmelo Anthony? You know what you heard from Carmelo Anthony when people were asking him whether his son was going to go pro or not a few months ago? He said, ‘I don’t want to hear that sh*t’. He said that brother got to be on his grind and figure out what college he’s going to go to. That’s what he said and see that’s where the subject has to be broached.”

“I bring that up because it’s very, very important to understand and appreciate how he and Kiyan’s mother La La Anthony have handled their son…I’m not talking about Bronny doing anything wrong. I’m not talking about Kiyan doing anything wrong. I’m talking about how Carmelo Anthony handled it. So coming onto the college scene, there ain’t no questions about Kiyan.”

Notably, this comes amid the heavy criticism the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James have received for the alleged mishandling of Bronny. For the unversed, the Lakers recently recruited the 20-year-old—who was picked as the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, intensifying nepotism talks—play for the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers,

but for home games only. When South Bay hits the road, James is called back up to the NBA roster. In light of this, NBA legend and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said on The Better Angol podcast on November 23, “The kid is not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G League so he can play basketball.”“And also, this thing where he’s only gonna play homes games. It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him. I don’t think they are doing Bronny any favors. They have just handled this thing very bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I really like everything LeBron has done. But it’s a bad look for him [too], in my opinion.”

In stark contrast, as pointed out by Smith just a day later:

“Carmelo…he’s just a proud papa. He didn’t influence anything. He just got his son ready and made it happen.” 

Case in point: Kiyan himself pointed out how he’s never been pushed. In an interview with ESPN, the teenager had noted in September this year,

“[My father] never pushes me to go to Syracuse just because his name is on the gym. He did so much at Syracuse. He knows that I’m my own person. I’ve just got to make my own decision at the end of the day…He’s never going to say, ‘You got to go to Syracuse. You got to go there because I went there.’ He’s not going to make me follow in his footsteps unless I really want to.”

But all’s well that ends well, as has been the case with the teenager. Kiyan ultimately chose Syracuse—his father’s alma mater that won its only national title in 2003, led by Anthony. At 6-foot-5 and about 177 pounds, Kiyan comes off of averaging nearly 20 points per game on the Nike EYBL circuit playing for Team Melo, a program co-founded by his father. He ranked 11th in scoring last summer playing for Team Melo. Furthermore, in eight games during Nike’s Peach Jam showcase this past summer, Kiyan averaged 21.8 points per game while shooting 37.3% from three, as per ESPN.

US Open – VIPs Arrivals Lala Anthony with her son Kiyan Carmelo Anthony arriving at The US Open to attend the game between Serena Williams and Anett Kontaveit at the second round of US Open in New York City, NY, USA on August 31, 2022. Photo by Dylan Travis/ABACAPRESS.COM New York City NY United States PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxESPxUKxUSAxBELxPOL Copyright: xDylanxTravis/ABACAx 822756_034 DylanxTravis/ABACAx 822756_034

Having said that, many opine that the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center that stands tall at Syracuse might act as an added pressure on Kiyan. Not Stephen A. Smith, though. “Not only does he [Kiyan] not care, not only he’s looking forward to the challenge, there is no one out there who expects him to fail because his game is not a question mark. See the difference? I am talking about how Carmelo Anthony handled it,” the NBA analyst remarked.

LeBron James, on the other hand, was not as lucky to end up in Smith’s good books…

Stephen A Smith questions LeBron James for putting pressure on son!

Truth be told, if you’re in Bronny’s shoes, you’re talking about a father who achieved greatness with each passing year. He breached the 40k points in the NBA mark. Bronny, on the other hand, has appeared in four games for the Lakers, scoring four points in 13 combined minutes of action. The father-son duo also made NBA history on October 22 this year, when they became the first father and son to play together during the Lakers’ season-opening win over Minnesota. Nevertheless, the amount of expectations could harm young Bronny. Deeply.

As Stephen A. Smith clarified, “Bronny James. I am rooting for you. Wonderful family. Great kid. He’s done nothing wrong. LeBron James, one of the two players in the history of basketball. He is on the Mt Rushmore…Why am I telling y’all this, because I’m in the media and I know what’s coming and eventually the opposite [of Kiyan] is going to be coming in Bronny’s direction because of the process that unfolded. And it’s all going to fall at the doorsteps of LeBron James. Because he dictated the process instead of letting it play itself out. I’m telling y’all what I know. Not trying to be negative…LeBron did nothing intentional to hurt his son, but it hurt nevertheless because of how he handled it.”

In another segment, he reiterated, “But he publicly stated he wanted to play with his son in the NBA and then publicly made it happen. So as a result, the criticism that has come in Bronny’s way has been excessive. It has been unfair.”

Concluding his monologue, the analyst stated, “It has been cruel… But who instigated it? It was LeBron. LeBron, guess what, ladies and gentleman, and absolutely no pun intended. All he had to do was be mellow. It’s the one time in all of LeBron’s basketball life he should have been mellow!”

Well, it doesn’t help that James has always maintained a high opinion of his son in the media, ever since he was a kid. Back in 2017, the iconic player had stated, “I didn’t handle the ball as well as [Bronny] does. He handles the ball exceptionally and he shoots it a lot better than I did at that age, but I’ve always had the ability to pass the ball. It’s good to see him doing it as well.” Bronny was 12 at the time.

The pressure Bronny faces right now is off the charts. Therefore, we hope we can see Bronny get some time to figure out his next move. It is probably to the G-League where he can learn the game and get some experience.