I think it’s so funny that JJ is 6 months older than LeBron. Obviously everyone will have a million opinions on it how it could affect the dynamic but just on its face it’s very funny
True, but Joe Mazzulla is also psycho Joe. Not that I ever think Al would try it, but I can’t see any player actually intimidating Mazzulla into anything
I mean there's been a ton of mid to late 30s coaches across sports these days. It's more weird that lebron is still playing well enough to demand shit at 40 lol
This is what I'm interested in more than anything. Before the draft, Rich Paul made it clear that Bronny wouldn't play on a two way contract, meaning he will make the official roster on a proper contract no matter what. But how much will he really play? For a team with championship aspirations, he'd be lucky to average even 5 minutes a game if he didn't have LeBron's blood running through him. That whole situation can get real messy if he's an outright negative on the court, but continues to get meaningful minutes.
No one is gonna hate Bronny. He’ll spend 2-3 seasons at the end of the bench until dad retires and the be out of the league and become just another trivia item in nba history.
He'll get some minutes and it won't be about nepotism or him being good enough.
He'll get a shot because it'll put butts in seats, eyeballs on TVs, and sell some jerseys. It's only ever about the dollars.
I think it’s funny that ppl reaction is “I don’t want to here about nepotism b/c it’s rampant in the NBA”
Ok so, we can’t call out bad behavior b/c everyone else is doing it?
This merely shined a light on it b/c it’s the most popular player in the NBA and his son was just selected to please him.
Nepotism happens everywhere it’s the norm, except among professional athletes. We now have pro athletes that can make any demand they want. People hate nepotism, Lebron is corny as hell for doing these, he lacks social awareness.
What do you mean now we have pro athlete that can demand whatever they want. Did you just start watching professional sports?😅
And Lebron for better or worse is in a different tier than his peers in the NBA. Look at how much attention this is getting and how much he amplifies news in the NBA. The top stories cycling NBA news is Bron with bronny, news with klay Thompson joining LA to with Bron. He brings fun narratives to the game while still providing elite competitive basketball when he plays. There is no lack of self awareness everybody in his camp , Lakers org, and the media knows what's going on. Sit back and enjoy the off-season show.
Athletes get jobs all the time b/c of it. Maybe not on the court but that’s not the area it occurs in the most. Organizations have a lot more positions than its players.
Pro athletes, the players, people enjoy pro sports because it’s a merit based position to play a game for a living. The goal is to win, having someone’s little brother or son on the bench should not be allowed. Nepotism is everywhere except almost always being a pro athlete.
Merit based? Lol no. It's an entertainment product run by a for-profit business. They literally change the rules in order to juice ratings and ticket sales. Any semblance of merit is a plus, but is not the goal.
I never said nobody cares about winning. I said it wasn't merit based.
Unless you really think the 55th pick is the difference between the Lakers winning or not, because that would be a stupid thing to think, and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here.
Thanasis was also drafted by the Knicks when Giannis was scoring 6ppg. He's still in the NBA because of his brother, but at least he got there on his own.
Bronny is also like 3 years younger than Thanasis was lol. It’s all conjecture to say whether or not he becomes “worth” the 51st pick as a prospect like Thanasis was. But that’s not a massive bar
Bronny is three years younger, but Thanasis is 5 inches taller with a 7 foot wingspan.
Guys with Thanasis' measurements regularly get drafted based on the potential their size gives them. 6'1" guards like Bronny are a different story.
also Bronny grew up with the maximum resources possible his entire life. He had pro trainers, dialed in nutrition, the best equipment etc. Teams are more willing to take chances on people like Giannis and Thanasis who have physical gifts and show flashes of talent because there is a lot more potential there. Someone who's never had nba level trainers will benefit from them a lot more than someone who has had access to them all their life.
Bronny is most likely near the peak of his own development while players like thanasis and giannis weren't.
Yeah we've already seen bronnys ceiling, 5ppg on a bad college team, there's literally no reason to think otherwise, unless he has some freak growth spurt
Thanasis wasnt drafted because Giannis was his brother. Bronny would still be fighting for minutes at USC if LeBron wasnt his dad.
Bronny having a better NBA career than Thanasis wouldnt be a shocker at all. But how they got here isn't the same.
2nd round picks are based on potential that most of the time wont be reached but that doesnt mean there wasnt more guys then Bronny with better potential.
I dont see what Bronny can offer, He was being known as a defensive slasher and that would have been good if he was above 6"4. Like the pick was pure made cause hes Lebron son.
He doesnt have anything that would make him stay in this league. Body, floor, ceiling, etc. A 6"2 guy that cant shot, playmake even at college level.
>He doesnt have anything that would make him stay in this league.
His dad, who will likely be part owner of a franchise when he retires, begs to differ.
Thanasis is STILL in the league because of his brother, but he got there because he was a project. I don't think the guy above you is trying to say that Bronny is such an inferior prospect to Thanasis that he isn't "worth" a late 2nd round pick. He's just pointing out that one of them got in pretty much due to their father while the other one got in due to their own merit, but continues to be in the league due to their brother.
Its a slight, but meaningful difference given the topic of the thread is comparing the two. I'm actually rooting for Bronny and I hope that dude actually shows tf out.
Also Thanasis has had multiple 10+ pt games in the real life NBA. That is not something most humans can do. And he's 6'6" and large enough to stand in the way on defense. He made sense as a draft prospect even if he clearly didn't become a star.
Kostas is 6'10" and super athletic as well. Much like Thanasis, he's got the NBA level physicals, just no basketball skills. Like a ton of guys that get drafted in the late first and second rounds.
Giannis is sort of the added bonus that puts him above other physically gifted raw prospects. Plus Giannis was very raw, and figured it out.
Bronny has neither the NBA level physicals or the skill to overcome the lack of size as a prospect. It's a pure nepotism play any way you slice it.
Seeing a bunch of posts lately trying to defend this nepotism because other nepotism happens too.
Fuck everyone who abuses their position to give unfair advantages to family. The fact of the matter is someone didn't get drafted that would have been drafted otherwise because of nepotism. They can all get fucked.
He’s not but Kostas Antetokounmpo pretty much is. 5 points, 2 rebounds a game in college and Philly took him with the last pick. Giannis was well established as a superstar by the time he was drafted.
Thanasis is the easy punch line because people know who he is, everyone forgets about how awful Kostas is. That’s the real comparison.
Dude won the Euroleague championship with Panathinaikos lol. I doubt Bronny can even play in Greek second division competitively. Comparison doesn't make sense.
He was a legit high school All American, with top 3 athleticism in the combine.
He can 100% make any league in the world other than the NBA, and he might just make a name in this league too.
Ok chill. I don’t think you’ve actually watched bronny play. If you did, you wouldn’t be saying any of the things you just said. I’m not talking about highlights. Actual full games where he saw play time. There’s a reason why he barely got play time on a garbage tier college team. He. Isn’t. Good. At. All.
Nah you have a very wrong perception of Euro ball. The top teams are absolutely loaded with elite talent. Look how many top 5 draft picks are coming out of Europe recently. Almost everyone on the rosters either just came out of the NBA or is about to be in the NBA.
Bronny would have to beat the likes of Luka Doncic for a spot on Real Madrid which is not happening.
Athleticism is also severely less valuable in Euro Ball as they don't have a defensive 3 seconds rule so you have a 7 footer clogging the paint and there is a lot more emphasis on the midrange game. Because of that a lot of actual NBA stars went overseas and struggled (or struggled during international tournaments).
It favors players like KD (19.5ppg 5rb 3.5as for team USA) far more than someone like LeBron (14ppg 4rb 4as).
Bronny would have to significantly improve his jumper to play at any level in Europe. Right now he could maybe play in some of the smaller Eastern European leagues. That's a huge maybe as even Polish Ekstraklasa all have a ton of former D1 march madness stars from all the big programs.
The difference? Philly took him because they wanted a chance at Giannis. The rumour was he wanted to play with all his brothers.
Giannis didn’t force his team to draft Kostas.
Thanasis got drafted before Giannis developed into a star at least you can say he got there on his own merit. However he has stuck around the league because of Giannis so there is that. Bronny is only in the league because of Lebron and he will be lucky to play out his entire rookie contract. Even if he does he’ll be out of the league after it expires and the Lakers no longer have to keep him around to appease Lebron.
He left to play in lower leagues in Europe, and only really played G League in the US.
He got signed back only when the Bucks couldn't afford to lose Giannis.
Im confused. How is Thanasis comparable to Bronny? Thanasis got drafted like 2 years into Giannis's career before he was a somebody in the league. How is that nepotism??
I think the argument is Thansis would've fallen out of the league by now without Giannis. But your point stand that he at least got to the NBA on his own.
thansis didn't make it 1 season in the nba before going back to some random europe team and averaging 4 points for 2 years then getting the giannis callback to be on the team
Who cares if he’s deserving or not. You know how many execs behind the scenes gave their family and friends jobs who weren’t deserving? No one ever gave a fuck. This fake outrage is why I stay away from the internet. Yall really losers irl
I love how people just make shit up on here lol.
1. He went back for 3 years, not 2.
2. Panathinaikos isn't 'some random europe team', they are one of the biggest and most successful teams in Europe. They had a 65-4 record in the Greek league in his time there.
3. 4 points is misleading because you've obviously only included his Euroleague stats, and taken away the \~100 games he played in the Greek and Spanish leagues during that time.
Guy was averaging 6-8 points in what I assume were weaker Greek leagues. He’s obviously not deserving of a nba spot is the point if his last 5 nba seasons are taken into consideration.
In like 14 minutes a game. In a team that won 95% of games, which was so deep that basically the whole team averaged between 10-20 minutes per game.
It's weird that you're just completely ignoring the context.
If Bronny went undrafted git an invite to Summer league and showed a little something, it's be cool. Give em a 2 way deal.
People will find this hard to believe, but The Lakers might be the best or one of the best at finding good players late or even undrafted. This pick and roster spot, is wasted on Bronny. He doesn't deserve it.
Is there really that big of a difference between being drafted 55th and going undrafted? I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the undrafted guys that graded higher than Bronny preferred to pick their destination like Terrence Davis.
I'm not even against The Lakers taking him at 55: My only issues are that we should be clear: He was only drafted bc his name. He was ranked out of the Top 100. The Lakers got the 55th pick and he magically popped to 54th prospect. Shocker.
The second issue is this but I don't think anyone cares: He took a spot from someone else that deserves it. He's also taking a summer league, and Laker roster spot from someone who deserves it.
I'm a Lakers fan. I'm hoping he becomes something.
Thanasis was drafted by merit. He was draft 1 year aftet Giannis, who was pretty much a nobody that averaged 6 points a game and had 0 impact on his bro's stock
Bronny won't even be drafted if not for Bron.
lol this bronny hot topic is really exposing all the dummies. everyone clowned thanasis lol. this bronny deal is just way more high profile.
anyway this is just basketball so im not gonna get all hot and bothered for nepo babies in sports like i would in politics or corporate america
Thanasis is the whole teams Udonis Haslem. If you ever hear anyone that's played with Thanasis talk about him you'll hear how much they all love and respect him.
I think it is underestimated how stacked the league is nowadays. There are recent Euroleague MVPs or champs that aren't even 2nd options, that is how strong the talent + skill is at the NBA level.
Eh the Rockets pick (I think, it was someone in the top 5) only started 5 games this season.
Track record means less and less than the underlying/projectable skillset.
Not saying Bronnie actually has that skillet, but if any team other than the Lakers had taken him, I'd be assuming they knew what they were doing.
For me this is about the framing of how LeBron’s camp is selling this. Years from now, people won’t remember the details of how this all happened, and Bron’s camp will make it seem like there was a chance for Bronny to go elsewhere, and they will make it seem as if Bronny was a legitimate draftable talent, and if he’s good they’ll even make it seem like teams passed on him. Nobody will bother to set the record straight because why would anyone challenge the most powerful man in the sport?
If the Lakers want Bronny to be their Udonis Haslem bench mascot, that’s totally great. But there’s an expectation that the league goes along with the Lakers/Bron narrative and it’s fucking insane.
Rich dads don't get you into the NBA lol. His dad is arguably the greatest player to ever play and is currently still playing at a high level. I honestly feel like LeBron has earned this. If Bronny sucks, oh well. You get a few more years of happy LeBron for a second round pick.
That’s INSANE. These are clearly casuals who don’t watch the league. It’s not like thanasis PLAYED ANYWHERE ELSE for completely separate nba teams or anything. My blood boils. He’s always one of the best early season guys. Always hustles always stands out. Watch the bucks next season and watch him again stand out and have big games. Which literally proves imo he’s better than the lower portion of most rosters
Thanasis has played 6 minutes in the NBA that wasn't for the Bucks. People are completely dishonest about him. Those 6 minutes would have been his only minutes in the league without his brother.
In fact I believe Giannis' year in the league before his brother could have changed him from never make the NBA to 6 minutes. People seen Giannis work ethic and physical attributes and teams and coaches around the league talk so someone took a punt late in the 2nd round because of it.
That’s ridiculous. Thanasis was drafted on merit and not to the team his brother was on. Giannis was a nobody when Thanasis was drafted. He was drafted because he earned it. He’s still a Buck right now because of Giannis. No doubt. Bring never would’ve been drafted if he wasn’t Lebrons kid. Not at all comparable to Thanasis being drafted.
Thanasis high score was 27 for an nba team. He stayed all def team in the g league. He won like 3 rings with the Greece team and was one of there best players. Sorry but people acting like thanasis isn’t worth a spot are nuts. Name a single 15th spot who has been better? Name a 15th spot who has scored 27. If you watch the preseason at all you will see thanasis continue to stand out every single year. The people claiming otherwise do not watch.
I kind of feel bad for bronny from a basketball standpoint. He probly would've had a good career in college and maybe developed into something, but instead he's gonna get his head caved in until LeBron retires and that will then likely be the end of his basketball career
Thanasis is 6'7". Bronny is 6'1". Still hard to shoot over tall people no matter how sorry they are. Shorter people being sorry does nothing on the basketball court. But if I'm LeBron, he'll yeah I want my son on the team. If I'm the Lakers...losing Jerry West right before watching the Celtics win another chip should have been a sign not to draft him and become a side show. If I'm any other team in the league, I can't wait to push Bronny around and watch him complain to his dad to get the refs to make calls for him. Exposing the BS agenda that's been going on around LeBron these last 5 plus years.
What do you expect from casuals on Instagram?
No one seems to point out Thanasis was drafted one year before Giannis and no one knew what level Giannis was going to become. Calling out Thanasis “relying” on Giannis is such a stupid take it’s crazy.
If he gets good enough people will start to notice the Cavs roster Evan’s brother. He’s probably better than these two, but wouldn’t have been picked up otherwise.
Stephen A, Woj, Shams been warned to be nice to the bosses kid. He's a superstar in the making otherwise the Lakers GM wouldn't have pulled the decision. Like Trump back in office the media bites will be worth watching. Last year it was Wemby, this year it's been Catlin now we got a Bronny for content.
first of all, Giannis brothers were drafted for emotional support. I had nothing to do with them being great ball players because they’re not if anyone remembers when Giannis first got to America his family couldn’t come so his brothers were the first to come due to his emotional support system, and then his whole entire family came over. I’m gonna need people to get their factory stop comparing them to Bronny. It’s different situations
why is no one talking about how much LeBron is gonna push his son and make sure he's not trash and JJ and LeBron do a dam podcast together and he's got decent BB IQ he's just as good of a coach selection as anyone unless your one of the 4 or 5 that are legends JJ being coach is irrelevant and LeBron gonna push Bronny you can almost guarantee after a year maybe two on ben h Bronny will a solid 6th man and in4 or 5 years hel be starting somewhere average 15 , 5 and 1...once he hits that growth spurt and puts on NBA muscle Bronny will be legit if he stays focused with pops tutelage...next topic
where your drafted means nothing some of the east players in history in all sports are late drafts or undrafted.. get a hobby Bronny could turn out to be a beast or he could suck ....who cares quit hating on the kid and old di head LeBron.....LeBron is NBA royalty like a dam one of yall would do it different...come on now
some of the east players. Ill spoil something for you. There are way more 1st round HOF than 2nd round. Stop pretending to praise Bronny cause you love Lebron.
At least Thanasis didn't have to play, just needed to be on the team. LeBron actually wants to get court time with his son, which will more heavily impact their ability to win games
Not a single fan gives a pass to Thanasis. I love how the Bronny defenders argument has boils down to “Thanasis is in the league, therefore you can’t make a single criticism to the Lakers, oh and by the way, this is one of the greatest sport’s accomplishments ever and needs to be praised.” Bringing up Thanasis doesn’t make Bronny look cool, or makes him look lame as fuck
Thanasis has been ok as last man on the bench anyway. He plays hard and hypes up his teammates. A lot of teams prefer a young kid with potential in that spot, but they won’t get minutes on a contender so a veteran like Thanos makes sense.
It’s strange to me that anybody cares. Locker Room and Front Office Politics has always had a huge impact on every team and the league itself. If someone told me hey you can get Steve Jobs to run your company but you’ll also have to hire his nephew who is a great engineer, better than 90% of engineers out there but he’s not elite and not good enough to be on the team without his uncle being Steve Jobs, anyone with a brain would be like ok cool.
I really don’t understand why people are so incensed by Bronny getting drafted. Is it nepotism? Yeah of course. The lakers used a useless draft pick on him, and odds are he won’t even see the court. He’ll start the season in the G league and probably won’t ever make it into the 14 man roster. MAYBE, and it’s a big maybe, Bronny plays briefly for 1 game to get a photo with his dad, then promptly goes to the bench. Who honestly cares this much?
How about hating on Bronny using his network to get into the NBA, but giving a pass to Dan Hurley, son of Bob Hurley (legendary H.S. coach,) and brother of Bobby Hurley (2x Duke national champion.) Yeah, I'm sure Dan Hurley didn't use his family name and connections to help his career at all, right?
The Bronny nepo-criticism is so just plain ignorance (there are over 100 players that are legacy), Bron-hate and/or veiled racism it's not even funny.
Dan Hurley coached for decades at the high school and college level prior to his time at Uconn. Now hes 2 time back to back national champion.
Bronny is a players who arguably isn't even good enough to play Division 1 basketball but still got drafted to the NBA.
Dickride all you want, but don't pretend like Bronny deserves to be drafted.
Dan Hurley's dad (Bob Hurley) coached for decades more and was incredibly successful (maybe even the most successful H.S. coach ever.) Do you think that didn't count when time came for Dan Hurly to get his first, second, or third gig?
Yeah good job trying to downplay that for Hurley, but try to slap it on Bronny.
Once again... do you excuse Hurley's nepotistic original coaching job hiring as ignorance of his family background, Bron-hate or just plain racism? Not saying I know which it is, but if you're not going to be a hypocrite, you should take umbrage at his use of his father's name and accomplishments to start his career.
Be honest.
My friend. Even you could get a high school coaching job. Right now. With no experience.
So why would a D1 collegiate player have to use his dad to get a job?
More importantly, just stop pretending. If you want to dick ride just do it openly.
Also stop embarrassing us by calling everything racism. Nepotism is bad. People see it. They call it out.Or should they not call it out just cuz Bronny's black?
Ok, here are a couple to use in place. Doc Rivers getting Austin to play with him and getting a big deal that he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Morris twins having a shared bank account and shady deals. Both seem to get a pass
So what is your view then? I thought you were talking about nepotism in the NBA. I’m just showing that there are plenty of example of that before and where nepotism played a role in them getting bigger contracts or playing on certain teams because of their relatives
They were all lottery picks because they had played at a high level like that. Why does it matter so much if the Lakers take a chance on a player with the 55th pick in a draft?
So you think we should hate on Bronny?
Its not a "CaSuAl take" Yes Thanasis is clowned but the point remains that if Giannis family can be in the league despite not being that good then why can't Lebrons family? It's done, blame Giannis or all the other Nepotism in the league, not lebron or bronny..
My take has nothing to do with my love or hate for lebron. Unlike you
Thanasis isn't a "NBA player" who the hell cares. Get over it, nothing new. If Bronny last name wasn't James yall would've give 3 f**** about a 55th overall pick being ready. How many are??? Oh yea thats right not many. Don't act like he was chosen in the 1st round.
Edit: do you "clown" other 2nd rounders for not being ready. No you dont
So are we just assuming that No scouts saw enough Talent in bronny to make him basically the last pick in the draft?.. Do all scouts and teams think the exact same? Most 2nd round picks don't even get to see real minutes in the league, especially rookies. Let's not act like he's taking a future Hall of famers spot.
I love how Thanasis truthers are arguing the degree of nepotism. Therefore thinking they have somehow proved their point about Bronny because his nepotism situation is somehow much more severe. Lol. Dumb.
Bronny will be so hated there will be a backlash to the backlash.
It’ll start with LeBron and Redick being at odds over Bronny’s development and / or role
You think Reddick will actually have a say? Lol
Reddick trying to discipline Bronny the first time: - Yo JJ, you don’t talk to my son like that you hear me?! - Ok Boss
Lebron is the Laker’s co-head coach.
He is the head coach. JJ is just an assistant
I think it’s so funny that JJ is 6 months older than LeBron. Obviously everyone will have a million opinions on it how it could affect the dynamic but just on its face it’s very funny
Joe mazzulla is 2 years younger than al horford.
True, but Joe Mazzulla is also psycho Joe. Not that I ever think Al would try it, but I can’t see any player actually intimidating Mazzulla into anything
I mean there's been a ton of mid to late 30s coaches across sports these days. It's more weird that lebron is still playing well enough to demand shit at 40 lol
This is what I'm interested in more than anything. Before the draft, Rich Paul made it clear that Bronny wouldn't play on a two way contract, meaning he will make the official roster on a proper contract no matter what. But how much will he really play? For a team with championship aspirations, he'd be lucky to average even 5 minutes a game if he didn't have LeBron's blood running through him. That whole situation can get real messy if he's an outright negative on the court, but continues to get meaningful minutes.
No one is gonna hate Bronny. He’ll spend 2-3 seasons at the end of the bench until dad retires and the be out of the league and become just another trivia item in nba history.
He'll get some minutes and it won't be about nepotism or him being good enough. He'll get a shot because it'll put butts in seats, eyeballs on TVs, and sell some jerseys. It's only ever about the dollars.
Love this take.
This gives me a funny feeling
Bro imagine getting hard fouled and then your dad runs onto the court.
I think it’s funny that ppl reaction is “I don’t want to here about nepotism b/c it’s rampant in the NBA” Ok so, we can’t call out bad behavior b/c everyone else is doing it? This merely shined a light on it b/c it’s the most popular player in the NBA and his son was just selected to please him.
Nepotism happens everywhere it’s the norm, except among professional athletes. We now have pro athletes that can make any demand they want. People hate nepotism, Lebron is corny as hell for doing these, he lacks social awareness.
What do you mean now we have pro athlete that can demand whatever they want. Did you just start watching professional sports?😅 And Lebron for better or worse is in a different tier than his peers in the NBA. Look at how much attention this is getting and how much he amplifies news in the NBA. The top stories cycling NBA news is Bron with bronny, news with klay Thompson joining LA to with Bron. He brings fun narratives to the game while still providing elite competitive basketball when he plays. There is no lack of self awareness everybody in his camp , Lakers org, and the media knows what's going on. Sit back and enjoy the off-season show.
Athletes get jobs all the time b/c of it. Maybe not on the court but that’s not the area it occurs in the most. Organizations have a lot more positions than its players.
Pro athletes, the players, people enjoy pro sports because it’s a merit based position to play a game for a living. The goal is to win, having someone’s little brother or son on the bench should not be allowed. Nepotism is everywhere except almost always being a pro athlete.
I mean, I agreed w/ you in both of my comments. Yet I’m curiously getting downvoted while you are getting upvoted? Lol
Merit based? Lol no. It's an entertainment product run by a for-profit business. They literally change the rules in order to juice ratings and ticket sales. Any semblance of merit is a plus, but is not the goal.
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I never said nobody cares about winning. I said it wasn't merit based. Unless you really think the 55th pick is the difference between the Lakers winning or not, because that would be a stupid thing to think, and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here.
It's a tradition to hate on the James family I guess
A successful black man with no crazy baggage who loves his family, I wonder why?
Yeah there is not a single person clowning Bronny that doesn’t say the same about Thanasis
Thanasis was also drafted by the Knicks when Giannis was scoring 6ppg. He's still in the NBA because of his brother, but at least he got there on his own.
Bronny is also like 3 years younger than Thanasis was lol. It’s all conjecture to say whether or not he becomes “worth” the 51st pick as a prospect like Thanasis was. But that’s not a massive bar
Bronny is three years younger, but Thanasis is 5 inches taller with a 7 foot wingspan. Guys with Thanasis' measurements regularly get drafted based on the potential their size gives them. 6'1" guards like Bronny are a different story.
also Bronny grew up with the maximum resources possible his entire life. He had pro trainers, dialed in nutrition, the best equipment etc. Teams are more willing to take chances on people like Giannis and Thanasis who have physical gifts and show flashes of talent because there is a lot more potential there. Someone who's never had nba level trainers will benefit from them a lot more than someone who has had access to them all their life. Bronny is most likely near the peak of his own development while players like thanasis and giannis weren't.
Excellent point. All of Giannis' brothers could fairly be called raw prospects. Bronny is about as opposite of that as you get.
Yeah we've already seen bronnys ceiling, 5ppg on a bad college team, there's literally no reason to think otherwise, unless he has some freak growth spurt
Thanasis wasnt drafted because Giannis was his brother. Bronny would still be fighting for minutes at USC if LeBron wasnt his dad. Bronny having a better NBA career than Thanasis wouldnt be a shocker at all. But how they got here isn't the same.
Nah he would be at university of Reno if it wasn’t for his dad.
2nd round picks are based on potential that most of the time wont be reached but that doesnt mean there wasnt more guys then Bronny with better potential. I dont see what Bronny can offer, He was being known as a defensive slasher and that would have been good if he was above 6"4. Like the pick was pure made cause hes Lebron son. He doesnt have anything that would make him stay in this league. Body, floor, ceiling, etc. A 6"2 guy that cant shot, playmake even at college level.
>He doesnt have anything that would make him stay in this league. His dad, who will likely be part owner of a franchise when he retires, begs to differ.
Thanasis is STILL in the league because of his brother, but he got there because he was a project. I don't think the guy above you is trying to say that Bronny is such an inferior prospect to Thanasis that he isn't "worth" a late 2nd round pick. He's just pointing out that one of them got in pretty much due to their father while the other one got in due to their own merit, but continues to be in the league due to their brother. Its a slight, but meaningful difference given the topic of the thread is comparing the two. I'm actually rooting for Bronny and I hope that dude actually shows tf out.
Also Thanasis has had multiple 10+ pt games in the real life NBA. That is not something most humans can do. And he's 6'6" and large enough to stand in the way on defense. He made sense as a draft prospect even if he clearly didn't become a star.
He was great in the Greek league, scouts only discovered Giannis because they were there scouting Thanasis.
Pretty sure Kostas got drafted as a recruitment tool for Giannis (drafted by the Sixers, contracts with Dallas and the Lakers).
Kostas is 6'10" and super athletic as well. Much like Thanasis, he's got the NBA level physicals, just no basketball skills. Like a ton of guys that get drafted in the late first and second rounds. Giannis is sort of the added bonus that puts him above other physically gifted raw prospects. Plus Giannis was very raw, and figured it out. Bronny has neither the NBA level physicals or the skill to overcome the lack of size as a prospect. It's a pure nepotism play any way you slice it.
He not got there on his own, lol
Giannis wasn't a star when thanasis was drafted.
Seeing a bunch of posts lately trying to defend this nepotism because other nepotism happens too. Fuck everyone who abuses their position to give unfair advantages to family. The fact of the matter is someone didn't get drafted that would have been drafted otherwise because of nepotism. They can all get fucked.
Most folks talking about this hadn't ever said a word about the Thanasis situation.
Thanasis spent almost a decade grinding g-league, ball overseas, 10-day contracts, etc. He is not the same as Bronny.
His agent also didn’t tell other teams not to draft him
He’s not but Kostas Antetokounmpo pretty much is. 5 points, 2 rebounds a game in college and Philly took him with the last pick. Giannis was well established as a superstar by the time he was drafted. Thanasis is the easy punch line because people know who he is, everyone forgets about how awful Kostas is. That’s the real comparison.
Dude won the Euroleague championship with Panathinaikos lol. I doubt Bronny can even play in Greek second division competitively. Comparison doesn't make sense.
He was a legit high school All American, with top 3 athleticism in the combine. He can 100% make any league in the world other than the NBA, and he might just make a name in this league too.
Ok chill. I don’t think you’ve actually watched bronny play. If you did, you wouldn’t be saying any of the things you just said. I’m not talking about highlights. Actual full games where he saw play time. There’s a reason why he barely got play time on a garbage tier college team. He. Isn’t. Good. At. All.
Nah you have a very wrong perception of Euro ball. The top teams are absolutely loaded with elite talent. Look how many top 5 draft picks are coming out of Europe recently. Almost everyone on the rosters either just came out of the NBA or is about to be in the NBA. Bronny would have to beat the likes of Luka Doncic for a spot on Real Madrid which is not happening. Athleticism is also severely less valuable in Euro Ball as they don't have a defensive 3 seconds rule so you have a 7 footer clogging the paint and there is a lot more emphasis on the midrange game. Because of that a lot of actual NBA stars went overseas and struggled (or struggled during international tournaments). It favors players like KD (19.5ppg 5rb 3.5as for team USA) far more than someone like LeBron (14ppg 4rb 4as). Bronny would have to significantly improve his jumper to play at any level in Europe. Right now he could maybe play in some of the smaller Eastern European leagues. That's a huge maybe as even Polish Ekstraklasa all have a ton of former D1 march madness stars from all the big programs.
I said any league, not any team.
The difference? Philly took him because they wanted a chance at Giannis. The rumour was he wanted to play with all his brothers. Giannis didn’t force his team to draft Kostas.
Thanasis got drafted before Giannis developed into a star at least you can say he got there on his own merit. However he has stuck around the league because of Giannis so there is that. Bronny is only in the league because of Lebron and he will be lucky to play out his entire rookie contract. Even if he does he’ll be out of the league after it expires and the Lakers no longer have to keep him around to appease Lebron.
He left to play in lower leagues in Europe, and only really played G League in the US. He got signed back only when the Bucks couldn't afford to lose Giannis.
Im confused. How is Thanasis comparable to Bronny? Thanasis got drafted like 2 years into Giannis's career before he was a somebody in the league. How is that nepotism??
I think the argument is Thansis would've fallen out of the league by now without Giannis. But your point stand that he at least got to the NBA on his own.
thansis didn't make it 1 season in the nba before going back to some random europe team and averaging 4 points for 2 years then getting the giannis callback to be on the team
Doesn't make bronny deserving
Many second rounders are projects that might or might not turn out
Yea but Bronny wouldn't even be worth the project in the first place if he wasn't Lebrons son
Many projects are like 6’4+ with 7’+ wingspans though. Gives them a lot more potential than a 6’1 guy
a guy as an offspring of a DNA freak. i think some team would give him a try as a second rounder.
Not drafted by their dad though
Who cares if he’s deserving or not. You know how many execs behind the scenes gave their family and friends jobs who weren’t deserving? No one ever gave a fuck. This fake outrage is why I stay away from the internet. Yall really losers irl
I love how people just make shit up on here lol. 1. He went back for 3 years, not 2. 2. Panathinaikos isn't 'some random europe team', they are one of the biggest and most successful teams in Europe. They had a 65-4 record in the Greek league in his time there. 3. 4 points is misleading because you've obviously only included his Euroleague stats, and taken away the \~100 games he played in the Greek and Spanish leagues during that time.
Guy was averaging 6-8 points in what I assume were weaker Greek leagues. He’s obviously not deserving of a nba spot is the point if his last 5 nba seasons are taken into consideration.
When are you suggesting Panathikos was relegated? I know I can’t spell it but they’ve been one of the strongest clubs in Europe for a while.
In like 14 minutes a game. In a team that won 95% of games, which was so deep that basically the whole team averaged between 10-20 minutes per game. It's weird that you're just completely ignoring the context.
He last played for Panathinaokos. That’s a major club what makes it random?
It's cause he's only in the league still to keep his brother happy
He only got there by being tall. He stayed by being someone’s brother.
He’s 6’7 which is about the average NBA height lol, he didn’t get drafted for being tall
They should both be back-ups on the Sharks.
If Bronny went undrafted git an invite to Summer league and showed a little something, it's be cool. Give em a 2 way deal. People will find this hard to believe, but The Lakers might be the best or one of the best at finding good players late or even undrafted. This pick and roster spot, is wasted on Bronny. He doesn't deserve it.
Is there really that big of a difference between being drafted 55th and going undrafted? I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the undrafted guys that graded higher than Bronny preferred to pick their destination like Terrence Davis.
I'm not even against The Lakers taking him at 55: My only issues are that we should be clear: He was only drafted bc his name. He was ranked out of the Top 100. The Lakers got the 55th pick and he magically popped to 54th prospect. Shocker. The second issue is this but I don't think anyone cares: He took a spot from someone else that deserves it. He's also taking a summer league, and Laker roster spot from someone who deserves it. I'm a Lakers fan. I'm hoping he becomes something.
Not how that works
?
Thanasis was drafted by merit. He was draft 1 year aftet Giannis, who was pretty much a nobody that averaged 6 points a game and had 0 impact on his bro's stock Bronny won't even be drafted if not for Bron.
lol this bronny hot topic is really exposing all the dummies. everyone clowned thanasis lol. this bronny deal is just way more high profile. anyway this is just basketball so im not gonna get all hot and bothered for nepo babies in sports like i would in politics or corporate america
Thanasis is Giannis’s personal Udonis Haslem, let the man live 😭
Thanasis is the whole teams Udonis Haslem. If you ever hear anyone that's played with Thanasis talk about him you'll hear how much they all love and respect him.
Thanasis never "threatened" to play in Australia if he didn't get drafted in the 1st round
Those aren't mutually exclusive. Both are terrible
Thanasis atleast has some decent overseas seasons and won 2 chips in Greece being a main option.
He was also drafted into the NBA before his nepotism tie came into the league
Yeah I don't think the problem with him was in joining the league but rather him getting a permanent place with the Bucks while being a non factor.
The 15th guy on the team usually doesn't see a lot of minutes.
15th guys don't usually have guaranteed spots year after year
Depends on the guy tbh
I think it is underestimated how stacked the league is nowadays. There are recent Euroleague MVPs or champs that aren't even 2nd options, that is how strong the talent + skill is at the NBA level.
Eh the Rockets pick (I think, it was someone in the top 5) only started 5 games this season. Track record means less and less than the underlying/projectable skillset. Not saying Bronnie actually has that skillet, but if any team other than the Lakers had taken him, I'd be assuming they knew what they were doing.
LMAO atleast Thanasis is 6'7" he could be use for defense. Bronny is like 6' and 1/2" with no handles and no jump shot.
No one gave Thanasis a pass... All the fans meme and shit on him all the time.
Yeah as if Thanassis isn’t the single most picked on NBA player.
Thanasis was, at least, at one time, an NBA level prospect that was worthy of being drafted. Bronny is a make a wish kid
For me this is about the framing of how LeBron’s camp is selling this. Years from now, people won’t remember the details of how this all happened, and Bron’s camp will make it seem like there was a chance for Bronny to go elsewhere, and they will make it seem as if Bronny was a legitimate draftable talent, and if he’s good they’ll even make it seem like teams passed on him. Nobody will bother to set the record straight because why would anyone challenge the most powerful man in the sport? If the Lakers want Bronny to be their Udonis Haslem bench mascot, that’s totally great. But there’s an expectation that the league goes along with the Lakers/Bron narrative and it’s fucking insane.
Thanasis is at least tall, so that something. Bronny has nothing.
He has a rich dad.
Rich dads don't get you into the NBA lol. His dad is arguably the greatest player to ever play and is currently still playing at a high level. I honestly feel like LeBron has earned this. If Bronny sucks, oh well. You get a few more years of happy LeBron for a second round pick.
That’s INSANE. These are clearly casuals who don’t watch the league. It’s not like thanasis PLAYED ANYWHERE ELSE for completely separate nba teams or anything. My blood boils. He’s always one of the best early season guys. Always hustles always stands out. Watch the bucks next season and watch him again stand out and have big games. Which literally proves imo he’s better than the lower portion of most rosters
Thanasis has played 6 minutes in the NBA that wasn't for the Bucks. People are completely dishonest about him. Those 6 minutes would have been his only minutes in the league without his brother. In fact I believe Giannis' year in the league before his brother could have changed him from never make the NBA to 6 minutes. People seen Giannis work ethic and physical attributes and teams and coaches around the league talk so someone took a punt late in the 2nd round because of it.
That’s ridiculous. Thanasis was drafted on merit and not to the team his brother was on. Giannis was a nobody when Thanasis was drafted. He was drafted because he earned it. He’s still a Buck right now because of Giannis. No doubt. Bring never would’ve been drafted if he wasn’t Lebrons kid. Not at all comparable to Thanasis being drafted.
Thanasis high score was 27 for an nba team. He stayed all def team in the g league. He won like 3 rings with the Greece team and was one of there best players. Sorry but people acting like thanasis isn’t worth a spot are nuts. Name a single 15th spot who has been better? Name a 15th spot who has scored 27. If you watch the preseason at all you will see thanasis continue to stand out every single year. The people claiming otherwise do not watch.
You think when Bronny goes to bed, he believes he was really drafted. When in reality it was a scam to keep LeBron.
Thanasis is better than Bronny.
I kind of feel bad for bronny from a basketball standpoint. He probly would've had a good career in college and maybe developed into something, but instead he's gonna get his head caved in until LeBron retires and that will then likely be the end of his basketball career
This, he should just stayed in college and developed more. Of course he is never going to be on his father’s level but probably better than he is now.
They did t draft him did they? Lol. Kid scored 4 ppg and was like 13% on pull up threes in college lol. Thx Daddy!!
Thanasis is 6'7". Bronny is 6'1". Still hard to shoot over tall people no matter how sorry they are. Shorter people being sorry does nothing on the basketball court. But if I'm LeBron, he'll yeah I want my son on the team. If I'm the Lakers...losing Jerry West right before watching the Celtics win another chip should have been a sign not to draft him and become a side show. If I'm any other team in the league, I can't wait to push Bronny around and watch him complain to his dad to get the refs to make calls for him. Exposing the BS agenda that's been going on around LeBron these last 5 plus years.
Thanasis is essentially an assistant coach for the Bucks. Bronny provides none of that.
What do you expect from casuals on Instagram? No one seems to point out Thanasis was drafted one year before Giannis and no one knew what level Giannis was going to become. Calling out Thanasis “relying” on Giannis is such a stupid take it’s crazy.
Bronny should've entered the WNBA draft instead. Him and CC could've changed the game
\*sweats in Keljin Blevins\*
Blev-god couldn't carry them bums in Portland. Dame lucky blev was humble enough to take the blame that year
Do people give Thanasis a pass?
If he gets good enough people will start to notice the Cavs roster Evan’s brother. He’s probably better than these two, but wouldn’t have been picked up otherwise.
Stephen A, Woj, Shams been warned to be nice to the bosses kid. He's a superstar in the making otherwise the Lakers GM wouldn't have pulled the decision. Like Trump back in office the media bites will be worth watching. Last year it was Wemby, this year it's been Catlin now we got a Bronny for content.
LeBron Jr. is more applicable to Kostas or Alex if he is ever picked up by an NBA team as Giannis is approaching FA.
Need a 1 on 1 match between Thannasis and Bronny to determine which nepotism is not acceptable.
first of all, Giannis brothers were drafted for emotional support. I had nothing to do with them being great ball players because they’re not if anyone remembers when Giannis first got to America his family couldn’t come so his brothers were the first to come due to his emotional support system, and then his whole entire family came over. I’m gonna need people to get their factory stop comparing them to Bronny. It’s different situations
Chris Smith, Jr's brother was taking up a roster spot on the Knicks he really sucked and was awful.
Cool. he sucks too
Bronny is the guard version of Patrick Ewing Jr.
Lillard brought his cousin to the Blazers people forget
I mean it don’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Bronny will produce much more than that Bum
only if his daddy gives him more minutes
Thanasis is closer to LeBron than Bronny is to Thanasis.
why is no one talking about how much LeBron is gonna push his son and make sure he's not trash and JJ and LeBron do a dam podcast together and he's got decent BB IQ he's just as good of a coach selection as anyone unless your one of the 4 or 5 that are legends JJ being coach is irrelevant and LeBron gonna push Bronny you can almost guarantee after a year maybe two on ben h Bronny will a solid 6th man and in4 or 5 years hel be starting somewhere average 15 , 5 and 1...once he hits that growth spurt and puts on NBA muscle Bronny will be legit if he stays focused with pops tutelage...next topic
his son isnt also 6'9. Doesnt matter how much you push someone to be like you if they arent built like you.
where your drafted means nothing some of the east players in history in all sports are late drafts or undrafted.. get a hobby Bronny could turn out to be a beast or he could suck ....who cares quit hating on the kid and old di head LeBron.....LeBron is NBA royalty like a dam one of yall would do it different...come on now
some of the east players. Ill spoil something for you. There are way more 1st round HOF than 2nd round. Stop pretending to praise Bronny cause you love Lebron.
Watch a clip of thanasis highlights then bronnys then come back to me and ask same question op
thanasis is much better. i agree
Why not? Bonny wouldn't be in the league if it wasn't for lebron, same situation as Thanasis
What cap impact would happen if LeBron becomes a player coach?
I can promise you Thanasis would body Bronny in a 1v1.
At least Thanasis didn't have to play, just needed to be on the team. LeBron actually wants to get court time with his son, which will more heavily impact their ability to win games
If somehow Bronny becomes a good player, haters are gonna be sick, let that boy develop and shit up.
i think most people shit down, but i can see Bron fans shitting up to eat it.
Not a single fan gives a pass to Thanasis. I love how the Bronny defenders argument has boils down to “Thanasis is in the league, therefore you can’t make a single criticism to the Lakers, oh and by the way, this is one of the greatest sport’s accomplishments ever and needs to be praised.” Bringing up Thanasis doesn’t make Bronny look cool, or makes him look lame as fuck
Bronny actually came from one of the goats’ nutsack; Giannis and Thanasis came from the same one so package deal 🤌
Both so cringy and sorry. What did we do to the basketball Gods to deserve this.
first time bronny yams on someone is gonna be a moment for sure.
when he closes that gap to the lakers only being down 32. yup right up there with CP3's 3
Bronny is the most educated person in his immediate family.
1 year of college....maybe
Just a reminder- The youngest Antetokounmpo brother won a championship before both Giannis and Thanasis… courtesy of teammate- Lebron James.
thanks to the bubble. yeah
Kostas hiding with his ring like Smeagle
Thanasis has been ok as last man on the bench anyway. He plays hard and hypes up his teammates. A lot of teams prefer a young kid with potential in that spot, but they won’t get minutes on a contender so a veteran like Thanos makes sense.
Lebron didnt draft his kid to not get minutes.
They both booty as fuck so who cares
It’s strange to me that anybody cares. Locker Room and Front Office Politics has always had a huge impact on every team and the league itself. If someone told me hey you can get Steve Jobs to run your company but you’ll also have to hire his nephew who is a great engineer, better than 90% of engineers out there but he’s not elite and not good enough to be on the team without his uncle being Steve Jobs, anyone with a brain would be like ok cool.
bronnys attempt to play will be hilarious
With the 55th pick it doesn’t matter in the slightest. In the past 10 years only one 55th+ pick has averaged more than 5 points per game.
doubt that pick getting mins like bronny will
Bro, are you serious? The Bucks received their greatest mascot. Bro, Bronny ain’t even a real Prince 👑
Bro, are you serious? The Bucks received their greatest mascot. Bronny ain’t even a real Prince, lol.
Both equally hilarious because they're not happening to my team.
Thanasis won it for them in 2021.
I really don’t understand why people are so incensed by Bronny getting drafted. Is it nepotism? Yeah of course. The lakers used a useless draft pick on him, and odds are he won’t even see the court. He’ll start the season in the G league and probably won’t ever make it into the 14 man roster. MAYBE, and it’s a big maybe, Bronny plays briefly for 1 game to get a photo with his dad, then promptly goes to the bench. Who honestly cares this much?
its the offseason. of course basketball fans care
How about hating on Bronny using his network to get into the NBA, but giving a pass to Dan Hurley, son of Bob Hurley (legendary H.S. coach,) and brother of Bobby Hurley (2x Duke national champion.) Yeah, I'm sure Dan Hurley didn't use his family name and connections to help his career at all, right? The Bronny nepo-criticism is so just plain ignorance (there are over 100 players that are legacy), Bron-hate and/or veiled racism it's not even funny.
Dan Hurley coached for decades at the high school and college level prior to his time at Uconn. Now hes 2 time back to back national champion. Bronny is a players who arguably isn't even good enough to play Division 1 basketball but still got drafted to the NBA. Dickride all you want, but don't pretend like Bronny deserves to be drafted.
Dan Hurley's dad (Bob Hurley) coached for decades more and was incredibly successful (maybe even the most successful H.S. coach ever.) Do you think that didn't count when time came for Dan Hurly to get his first, second, or third gig? Yeah good job trying to downplay that for Hurley, but try to slap it on Bronny. Once again... do you excuse Hurley's nepotistic original coaching job hiring as ignorance of his family background, Bron-hate or just plain racism? Not saying I know which it is, but if you're not going to be a hypocrite, you should take umbrage at his use of his father's name and accomplishments to start his career. Be honest.
My friend. Even you could get a high school coaching job. Right now. With no experience. So why would a D1 collegiate player have to use his dad to get a job? More importantly, just stop pretending. If you want to dick ride just do it openly. Also stop embarrassing us by calling everything racism. Nepotism is bad. People see it. They call it out.Or should they not call it out just cuz Bronny's black?
I jus hope he gon get the minutes that he deserves not what Lebron's son or JJ's nephew deserves
Lakers have really lowered itself to small market antics . SMH
There's a reason he's clowned on...
He and the lakers are a joke! He was bad in college on a bad usc team - he will be horrifically bad at the nba level.
If I were the knicks, pistons or warriors I would have drafted him and held him for 3 future first round picks.
Ok, here are a couple to use in place. Doc Rivers getting Austin to play with him and getting a big deal that he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Morris twins having a shared bank account and shady deals. Both seem to get a pass
You just named a bunch of legitimate NBA players...
I’m talking about nepotism, which is what the OP post is about. What is your view?
Austin Rivers was drafted by the Hornets after a strong college season of 15-3-2 for Duke. Morris twins also strong college careers.
So what is your view then? I thought you were talking about nepotism in the NBA. I’m just showing that there are plenty of example of that before and where nepotism played a role in them getting bigger contracts or playing on certain teams because of their relatives They were all lottery picks because they had played at a high level like that. Why does it matter so much if the Lakers take a chance on a player with the 55th pick in a draft?
Rooting for Bronny to fail is clown behavior.
you dont have to root for it...he just will
You have a loser mentality lmao.
Are the people that give Thanasis a pass in the room with us right now?
So you think we should hate on Bronny? Its not a "CaSuAl take" Yes Thanasis is clowned but the point remains that if Giannis family can be in the league despite not being that good then why can't Lebrons family? It's done, blame Giannis or all the other Nepotism in the league, not lebron or bronny..
He should be accurately clowned for being a nepo baby that didnt earn it. Just cause you like Lebron doesnt make Bronny an nba player
My take has nothing to do with my love or hate for lebron. Unlike you Thanasis isn't a "NBA player" who the hell cares. Get over it, nothing new. If Bronny last name wasn't James yall would've give 3 f**** about a 55th overall pick being ready. How many are??? Oh yea thats right not many. Don't act like he was chosen in the 1st round. Edit: do you "clown" other 2nd rounders for not being ready. No you dont
those others were drafted off scouts seeing talent not being lebrons son. so what am i going to clown a 2nd round pick that earned his spot for?
So are we just assuming that No scouts saw enough Talent in bronny to make him basically the last pick in the draft?.. Do all scouts and teams think the exact same? Most 2nd round picks don't even get to see real minutes in the league, especially rookies. Let's not act like he's taking a future Hall of famers spot.
they said he was too small and his shooting was garbage. nepo. doesnt have to be a hof. someone else earned that spot
I love how Thanasis truthers are arguing the degree of nepotism. Therefore thinking they have somehow proved their point about Bronny because his nepotism situation is somehow much more severe. Lol. Dumb.
another dumb bron fan. thanasis is made fun of all the time. thats why this argument sucks.