“I don't understand why people want Bronny to become his dad”: LeBron James' former teammate

The famous father-son duo in the NBA, LeBron James and Bronny James , continue to receive hatred from many who blame them for nepotism, despite the younger one’s talent on the court. The two are the only father and son to be part of the same team—the Los Angeles Lakers—a rare occurrence hardly ever seen in any other sport. Now, LeBron’s former teammate Iman Shumpert has spoken in their defense and explained why they receive so much hate.

Iman Shumpert says he has seen Bronny and Bryce James play since they were kidsIman Shumpert and LeBron James were teammates during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 championship run. During a recent chat with TT Torrez on her YouTube channel, Shumpert said it was “weird” that people hate the father-son duo so much. When asked about the reason behind such hatred, he said, “Cuz they ain’t in the NBA, and they can’t put their son there. That’s why you’re mad.”

Opening up more about seeing Bronny and Bryce play as kids, Shumpert said, “With LeBron’s son, people can go and get their whole conversation in but dude loves basketball for real. We used to be in the gym training for our game against whoever…Atlanta… Philly… whatever, and after practice, Bron would have Bronny and Bryce over. They’d be working on their stuff, it’s like seeing him play. I have never been worried about his game. He knows how to play the right way.”

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“It’s just y’all want him to be 6’8’’ like his daddy. He’s not, he’s never gonna be that, he’s not trying to be. I don’t understand why people want him to grow and become his dad…like it’s weird,” he added.

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LeBron James is a legend now, and Bronny is 20. Still, the youngster is doing well on the court. Last month, he put up a career-best performance by surpassing former number-one pick Ben Simmons. In their match against the Milwaukee Bucks—which they unfortunately lost—Bronny surpassed Simmons by accumulating more career three-pointers in just 22 games than the latter has in 373 games over eight seasons. Bronny currently averages around 2.3 points in fewer than six minutes per game in the NBA.