Shaquille O'Neal's son Shaqir O'Neal backs $5.8 million NIL-valued Bronny James for highlight dunk against Stanford
Bronny James might have only registered six points, three rebounds and three assists in USC's 99-68 loss to Stanford on Saturday, but he had a moment in the game that was reminiscent of his father, LeBron James, in his prime.
Bronny stole the ball from a Cardinal player and with the freedom of the court broke free and dunked as the Stanford crowd cheered on appreciatively.
Texas Southern guard Shaqir O'Neal, the son of Shaquille O'Neal, reposted the moment by the $5.8 million NIL-valued Bronny, according to On3, on his Instagram stories.
The controversy surrounding Bronny James
Bronny James has always been a marked man due to the stature of his father, LeBron James, in the game. After the LA Lakers star has been open about saying he would like to play with his son, speculation has gone into overdrive.
Since his debut for the Trojans on Dec. 10 after his cardiac arrest in July, James is averaging 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 35.6%.
With his play for the struggling USC Trojans (9-15) patchy at best, fans and analysts alike have started reexamining their draft projections for Bronny, and last week, he was part of a controversial spat between prominent analysts. A year ago, ESPN's Jonathan Givony had Bronny going No. 10. A year later, Givony doesn't have him in his latest mock drafts.
Appearing on "NBA Today," Austin Rivers, son of Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, made a sensational claim about Bronny James.
"I hope it doesn’t happen," Rivers said. "I don't want to see Bronny play with his dad, I really don’t. I went through something similar. … What happens is a lot of people start to discredit everything you’ve done.
"Him going and playing with his dad, at this point in his career, just because Bronny's success is not at a top-tier level, him getting drafted and playing with his dad, I don't want that negativity to come his way. Because he doesn't deserve it. I hope that he’s able to play somewhere where he can niche out his own identity."
Austin Rivers played under his father for the LA Clippers for four seasons and has an inkling about the negativity that comes from such an arrangement.
Former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Stephen Jackson replied to Rivers in the comments of an Instagram post discussing the issue with a scathing rejoinder.
"And your daddy not LeBron. Shut up," Jackson wrote. “Difference is you trash, Bronny not. You can’t compare to him scrub."
Whether or not Bronny James decides to declare for the draft and manages to play with his father in the NBA, his basketball career will always be scrutinized intensely down to the last detail.