Auburn HC Bruce Pearl gives a nod of approval to Stephen A. Smith’s opinions amid LeBron-Bronny nepotism saga

Auburn Tigers coach Bruce Pearl seemingly shared his stance on nepotism on Saturday, indirectly addressing the situation surrounding LeBron James and his son, Bronny, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 55 in the NBA draft. A wide consensus on social media regarding the selection was that Bronny was drafted just because of his father.

Stephen A. Smith gave his take on this whole situation, saying:

"We live in a country where nepotism has taken place with white folks religiously forever. We've said little to nothing about it. In the NBA specifically, in a league where at least 70% of the players are Black, we've seen nepotism with white folks all over the place: ownership, executive ranks, player personnels, scouting, coaching, the list goes on and on.

"Now this happens with LeBron James, a member of the Mount Rushmore of basketball, and all of a sudden you've got people running their mouths."

Coach Pearl agreed with Smith, as he replied:

"Preach Stephen A"

The arguments may seem personal to Bruce Pearl, who recruited his son, Steven Pearl, to the Tennessee Volunteers during his tenure as a coach. Steven graduated college in 2011, the same year coach Bruce left the Volunteers. During his four-year playing career, Steven averaged 1.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Later, when Bruce Pearl was hired as the head coach at Auburn in 2014, his son joined as the Tigers' assistant strength coach. He slowly worked his way up and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2023.

Bruce Pearl shared his plans for the upcoming season with the Tigers

After a first-round exit in the 2024 March Madness, the Auburn Tigers prepare for the upcoming season with hopes of a longer postseason run. They have made some additions via the transfer portal. In a chat with the media on Tuesday, Bruce Pearl said:

"So far, it's been good. The backcourt will look a lot different. We'll obviously have a new point guard. Right now, I've got JP (Pegues), Denver Jones and Tahaad (Pettiford) competing for that position.

"I made a conscious decision to not go and get a high major transfer at the four or five because I just felt like with Chaney (Johnson) and Dylan (Cardwell) and Johni (Broome) all being seniors, I wanted to give those guys the opportunity." [h/t 1819news]

What are your predictions for the upcoming season? Let us know in the comment section below.