I do think the selection of Bronny by the Lakers was nepotism.

But I don’t think this is as bad as it sounds. There are much worse examples of nepotism in the NBA, particularly among ownership and executives who aren’t in the spotlight.

Out of all the ways to leverage nepotism to get your son drafted, this is the best way to do it. Let’s break down the 55th pick in the NBA draft back to 2015:

  • 2023: Isaiah Wong (Indiana Pacers)
  • 2022: Gui Santos (Golden State Warriors)
  • 2021: Aaron Wiggins (Oklahoma City Thunder)
  • 2020: Jay Scrubb (Brooklyn Nets)
  • 2019: Kyle Guy (New York Knicks)
  • 2018: Arnoldas Kulboka (Charlotte Hornets)
  • 2017: Nigel Williams-Goss (Utah Jazz)
  • 2016: Marcus Paige (Brooklyn Nets)
  • 2015: Cady Lalanne (San Antonio Spurs)

Do you recognize any of these names? A few, maybe. Now, how many of those players are still in the NBA today?

  • Isaiah Wong: Signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers.
  • Aaron Wiggins: Plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • Gui Santos: Signed with the Golden State Warriors.

And of those three that are left, how many minutes have they been playing?

  • Isaiah Wong: Played one game in the 2023-2024 season, averaging 4.3 minutes per game.
  • Aaron Wiggins:
    • 2022-23: 19.6 MPG
    • 2021-22: 24.2 MPG
  • Gui Santos: 2022-23: 5.3 MPG (limited appearances)

The only one to really “make it” in the past nine years is Aaron Wiggins. My point is, if you’re going to “waste” a pick on your son, doing it with the 55th pick is a pretty great way to do it. That pick is historically a throwaway anyway.

Why is Bronny a Victim?

Now that we’ve established that the pick was nepotism but not a bad one, why the headline?

Recently, Bronny played his first summer league game. His stat line was not great: 4 points, 2/9 from the field, 0/3 on 3s, 0/2 FTs, over 22 minutes played in a 108-94 loss.

Bronny on the front page of ESPN

Despite that, he was on the front page of ESPN.com, one of the world’s largest sports media conglomerates, solely because he’s the son of one of the greatest NBA players of all time. His dad’s success will always bring chaos into his life.

The media is doing everything it can to drive hate to this kid. Every time they plaster him on the home page after a game like that, they drive hate straight to him. It’s a bit unfair to do that.

Let him play ball. We never gave Jay Scrubb, Arnoldas Kulboka, or Kyle Guy this attention, nor should Bronny get it either.