"Not one of the 600 best players" - Bill Maher questions 'nepo baby' Bronny James' place in NBA
Bronny James has been one of the most talked-about rookies from the 2024 NBA Draft class, despite being the 55th pick in the second round. On Saturday's episode of the "Club Random Podcast," Bill Maher hosted ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, where they discussed whether "Bronny James deserves to stay in the NBA."
Maher has previously claimed that every industry in the world has "nepo babies," with sports being the last place where meritocracy reigns. However, he said Bronny has become an exception to his rule.
"I see this sort of world of nepo babies and trust fund kinds when you're out ... Bronny James is the one who f****d it up. Because the point of it for people who didn't see it is that sports's the last place where you can trust that it's not nepo babies ... everything is nepo babies except sports," Maher said.
"You can always count on the fact that the best, the 600 players in the NBA were the best in the world — not just in America — and Bronny James is not one of the 600 best players."
Bronny has consistently faced accusations that his selection by the LA Lakers was a product of his superstar dad's influence. Before the draft, reports suggested the Lakers intended to draft Bronny to ensure LeBron James remained on their roster.
So far, Bronny’s performance has not silenced those critics. Bronny has not exactly proved them wrong. He is averaging just 0.7 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game in the NBA. His G League stats are also modest, with averages of 5.0 ppg, 2.5 apg and 3.0 rpg.
Hall of Famer Charles Barkley criticizes LA Lakers' treatment of Bronny James
Bronny was assigned to the Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, to aid his development. However, reports indicated he would only play in home games, a strategy Charles Barkley criticized on the Nov. 24 episode of "The Bettor Angle."
"This thing where he's only gonna play home games? It's stupid. It's not fair to him. It's not fair to the team ... I don't think they're doing Bronny any favors and they just handled this thing really bad," Charles Barkley said (9:50 mark).
Bronny is sidelined with a heel injury sustained on Nov. 17. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, he is expected to be re-evaluated in a week.