"Bona fide scrub be talking crazy" - LeBron James' friend goes no-holds-barred on Stephen A. Smith's Bronny James public outcry 

LeBron James
LeBron James' friend goes no-holds-barred on Stephen A. Smith's Bronny James public outcry (Image Credit: Imagn)

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith went in on LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James' son Bronny James' long-term NBA prospects, citing unjust nepotism. Afterward, LeBron's longtime friend, Cuffs The Legend, defended the rookie, taking aim at Smith's subpar college basketball career.

Bronny, the 2024 NBA draft's No. 55 pick, has played sparingly this season, alternating between LA and its NBA G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Nevertheless, the spotlight has been on the two-way guard prospect throughout the campaign.

Bronny received an extended run with LA during Tuesday's 118-104 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, playing 15 minutes. However, he failed to capitalize on the opportunity, tallying zero points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and three turnovers, missing all five of his shot attempts.

The underwhelming performance dropped Bronny's season scoring average to 0.3 points per game on a meager 6.3% shooting. Meanwhile, he has yet to hit his first 3-pointer (0-for-7).

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On Wednesday's edition of ESPN's "First Take," Smith delivered an impassioned plea to LeBron to stop his son from playing in the NBA. Smith noted that Bronny is only getting chances due to his family name, and would be better off staying in the G League permanently.

"I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father, (to) stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad," Smith said.
"The first game of the season, opening night, the Griffeys (were) in attendance, a father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time. An absolutely positively wonderful story. And then reality sets in. We love what we're seeing from him in the G League because that's where you belong."

Smith added that Bronny has the "potential" to earn a spot in the NBA one day, and he wishes him "nothing but the best."

Nonetheless, LeBron's friend didn't take too kindly to Smith's comments. Later in the day, Cuffs The Legend shared Smith's 1.5 ppg scoring average at Winston-Salem State University to his Instagram stories.

"Bona fide scrub be talking about PROFESSIONAL basketball players. Y'all created these monsters," Cuffs The Legend wrote in his caption.
LeBron James' friend goes no-holds-barred on Stephen A. Smith's Bronny James public outcry (Image Credit: @cuffsthelegend on Instagram)
LeBron James' friend goes no-holds-barred on Stephen A. Smith's Bronny James public outcry (Image Credit: @cuffsthelegend on Instagram)

The sports media personality also delivered a lengthy exposition about the declining state of NBA media in his related post about Smith.

However, given Smith's history, he appears unlikely to back down from his critiques of Bronny any time soon.


JJ Redick says he put Bronny James in "tough spot" against Sixers

While Bronny James was the subject of criticism for his play on Tuesday, Lakers coach JJ Redick took the blame.

During his postgame interview, Redick noted that Bronny probably shouldn't have been thrust into a sizable bench role after getting recalled from the G League. However, he reiterated his confidence in the rookie's rest-of-season outlook.

"Just felt like on a back-to-back, just him giving us energy, I think, was the goal. I maybe put him in a tough spot flying up yesterday, nationally televised game, Philly, all that stuff," Redick said.
"He didn't play well, but he's been playing great in the stay-ready games and he's been playing great in the G. I have confidence in him. But obviously didn't provide that at a high level."

Thus, it appears the first-time coach will take a more cautious approach to scaling up Bronny's playing time moving forward.


Also Read: NBA analyst rips JJ Redick's double standards for calling out Bob Cousy's generation and playing Bronny James

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Edited by Tristan Rawcliffe
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