Michelle Beadle doesn't mince words about Bronny James' 'manufactured' NBA debut: "I'm not impressed"
Arguably the biggest story from the opening night of the NBA season was Bronny James getting to play alongside his father and make history. While many applauded this historic achievement for the father-son duo, one analyst did not hold back with her true thoughts on the moment.
During Wednesday's episode of "Run It Back" on FanDuel TV, Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams discussed Bronny's debut. The longtime analyst avidly voiced her displeasure, feeling that the moment was entirely manufactured.
"The entire day was centered around this manufactured moment of history that we finally got," Beadle said. "If Bronny's debut isn't manufactured, then I don't know what the word manufactured means. I am not impressed."
Bronny James logged just three minutes in the game, which came in the final moments of the first half. He recorded one rebound and shot 0-for-2 from the field in his brief stretch.
Since being drafted by the LA Lakers, the nepotism narrative is something that has hung over Bronny's head. Following a lackluster college season at USC, many argued that he isn't an NBA-ready prospect just yet.
Seeing remarks like this from Beadle shows that this narrative isn't escaping Bronny anytime soon. All he can do is continue to work and prove that he belongs in the league on his own merit.
Chris "Mad Dog" Russo also pumps the brakes on the Bronny James debut hype
Michelle Beadle isn't the only analyst who candidly spoke about Bronny James making his NBA debut on Tuesday. Another notable TV personality also didn't hold back when speaking about the second-round pick getting playing time.
During Wednesday's episode of "First Take" on ESPN, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo also chimed in on the events that took place in the LA Lakers matchup. He doesn't understand all the hype and thinks it's only a big story because LeBron James is involved.
"Let's calm down," Russo said. "This might be fun for LeBron. Nobody in America cares that Bronny James played three minutes and grabbed one rebound at 11 o'clock at night."
"This is supposed to be a moment that America is gonna resonate with?"
It seems that the biggest gripe for these two analysts has to do with how Bronny James performed in his first taste of NBA regular season action. Instead of focusing on the history of the moment, they're harping on his minimal production and playing time.
In a league that has been around for as long as the NBA, having a first-time accomplishment like this is rare. That said, it's clear that not everyone around the league is fully sold on what the James family was able to pull off.