Bronny James: Debut game By: Nasim Hemmings

On October 22, 2024, history was made when Bronny James, the son of NBA legend LeBron James, took the court for his highly anticipated debut game with the Los Angeles Lakers. This moment made history not only because it was the first-time father and son shared an NBA court, but it became a game with high expectations. People expected Bronny James to follow his father’s footsteps. Among those watching closely was Chalin Young, a Hillgrove Student who stated, “I expect him to be bouncy like his dad, you know he can jump from anywhere out of court”.  For many, fans seem to be excited to see him perform at his first game and they have a lot of expectations for him as a player.

In his first game, Bronny James scored zero points. Fans of LeBron might seem to be disappointed by his performance this game. For fans who had been waiting to see younger James display the same skills as his father, they may feel a little underwhelmed. Some fans may have expected more from him. Hillgrove Student, Breanna Evans claims “I just like, now, like, when he scores zero points, I'll be like, dang, I told you so, because he was coming out of college scoring nothing too. So why? Why did he get drafted to Lakers?” Evans words capture the frustration that explains the hype around Bronny. When fans see this performance, they might not have as high expectations for him.

Can bronny improve, or will he be unable to meet the expectation he has as a player. Bronny has some strong attributions such as awareness and being athletic, but those can only get you so far as a player. Terrell Dawkins, a student at Hillgrove states “His awareness? Feel like he has good awareness, like his dad, like he understands what's going to happen.”, Bronny James could be a great player, but people have to see what is going to happen in the future. People must recognize that it was only his first game, and he has many more to come.