The hypocrisy of ESPN now claiming disgust over Bronny James goes back most glaringly to draft day — I believe it was the second of the new two-day draft, another Adam Silver special — when its coverage tried to establish a hot market for Bronny. The network suggested on several occasions that Bronny might not be available when the Lakers chose. A Lakers reporter pulled a quote from Anthony Davis about how Bronny can “guard multiple positions” and “turn into an elite shotmaker.” 

“Certainly he’s a name worth watching,” Dave McMenamin said on the broadcast. “We’re just waiting to see, like the Lakers are waiting to see, if he’ll still be available when we get to No. 55.” 

Of course, the truth was always that Bronny would be drafted by the Lakers, and that he was neither ready for the NBA nor worthy of any 2024 pick. As one executive texted a few days before the draft, “If his name were Joe Thomas, we wouldn’t be talking about him. I don’t really see it right now. If he had another two years in college, it might be different but not sure.” 

Still, ESPN built their entire draft coverage around a forgone nepotism pick, and now, over seven months later, tried to present Bronny’s struggles as both predictable and an indictment on LeBron’s parenting.