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“Disrespectful To Jrue Holiday”: Bronny James’ NBA Comparison Blasted By Legends Amid 19YO’s Draft Declaration News

Published 04/09/2024, 11:09 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Ever since Bronny James made his NBA Draft declaration, the hoops community blurted out a lot of opinions. Along with LeBron James publicly reassuring his kid of the family’s support whatever his decision might be, some from the fanbase stood by the 19-year-old, and some outright criticized him. Similarly, in the recent episode of Gil’s Arena, basketball legends engaged in a heated debate regarding a basic question. The question was: Is Bronny a pro? Rashad McCants posed this serious question to the gentlemen in the show.

Gilbert Arenas immediately countered, saying a confident ‘yes’. Nevertheless, it didn’t end there. John Jenkins teamed up with Rashad and debated around the youngster’s poor average in his freshman year, which eventually enabled Arenas to defend his former student, Bronny. The debate slowly drifted to comparing James Jr. to the NBA player and Arenas compared Bronny to the Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday.

He argued that both players possess similar point guard skills. Jenkins straight away said, “I am not doing that to Jrue. That’s disrespectful to Jrue Holiday.” Earlier, several reports stated that Gilbert Arenas had trained Bronny James in high school. And, James Jr. did put up an impressive show averaging 8.8 points. Arenas pointed out his defending and play-making skills. But the panel didn’t seem to agree with it. Eventually, he made a concluding remark to settle the debate.

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He said, “College and NBA, two different planets of basketball.” And continued to rate Bronny as a better player in a 1-on-1 situation. This isn’t the first time Arenas has compared the 19-year-old to Holiday. During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show last year, Arenas said, “He reminds me of more of athletic Jrue Holiday,” when Patrick asked if Bronny would get drafted within the Top 10 picks.

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Will Bronny James bounce back?

In the last few days, the hoops community has witnessed tons of polarizing views on the 19-year-old. While some argued that Bronny should spend another year in college, some say he could enter the NBA draft. However, the youngster ended up opting for both. On the other hand, another wave of fans fired shots at him from the nepotism angle. But Bronny wasn’t alone in this fight.

Draymond Green pitched in to defend the nepotism shots. The Dubs star shared a video of Colin Cowherd, supporting Bronny. Cowherd said, “I’m sorry. But the same people outraged by connections are the ones that constantly seek getting their kids ahead through connections.” DG reshared the video on his social media, saying, “Say it louder for the people in the back Colin! And he puts the work in!”

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While Bronny gets support off the court, he needs to improve his balling prowess in the off-season, to shut down his critics. The rising star has overcome scary health issues and coming back from such a situation is a big thing in itself. However, there’ll always be that added pressure on him because of his dad’s status in the game. And that is something he won’t be able to avoid in the modern-day. So there seems to be only one way to do it. In this tough time, can he come back stronger next season, either as an NBA player or a sophomore player?

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Written by:

Shahul Hameed

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Shahul Hameed is a Senior NBA Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Master's Degree in journalism from a distinguished institute, his journey into sports writing began during his college days, and since then, Shahul has been captivated not only by the remarkable consistency of Stephen Curry but also by the enduring legacy of LeBron James. He specializes in covering the live basketball action.
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Edited by:

Daniel D'Cruz