“I give him an A+. How he has personally handled a lot of attention, good and bad. He doesn’t ever break character. He’s the same guy every day,” said JJ Redick when asked what grade he would give Bronny James’ rookie season. This grade wouldn’t satisfy many, since it’s hard to grasp an A+ when a player only averaged 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. Claims like “Nepotism” and “Undue advantage” would continue flying around even as LeBron James’ son keeps showing signs of improvement. Even the hate shouldn’t be shut down since, at the end of the day, it is making the league money. While Richard Jefferson doesn’t deny it, he doesn’t want to give Bronny all the credit.

The crew of the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast, consisting of Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Channing Frye, and Allie Clifton, released an episode of their most recent discussion. Perkins took a moment to discuss Bronny by saying, “First, let me say this. Let me send flowers to Bronny because the way that he’s been handling the pressure, I got to give him his flowers. Like, people showing up to Bronny games, and it’s like any all-time great, or any, and I’m not calling them all-time great, but I’m saying anyone that’s like facing something. They either showing up because they want him to succeed or they showing up because they’re hating and want to say I told you so. Either way, he’s putting b—- in seats, right?”

As Tom Hanks’ character in ‘Elvis’ said, “After all, what is hate worth if it’s free?” Love him or hate him, Bronny continues gaining attention, and the league is making good use of it. As reported by Vivid Seats, the average ticket prices are up to $223 for the highly anticipated Lakers–Mavericks Summer League game. After all, along with featuring Bronny, the game will also mark the NBA debut of Cooper Flagg, former Duke Star and the #1 pick in the recent NBA Draft. The cheapest tickets come in around $85, while a courtside seat will cost you over $3,000. According to Jefferson, Bronny shouldn’t be getting the credit for the high prices alone.

“It’s not just him now. … It’s not just…. It’s not just Bronny now. There’s another component here. There’s another Thunder kid that just showed up on the scene, right?” said the 2016 NBA champion about Cooper Flagg. “Cuz if it would have been Bronny versus Wemby, I think it would have been the same, right? I think would have been the same kind of energy, right?”

There is no denying that Cooper Flagg brings with him a major amount of fame that several of the previous #1 picks, like Victor Wembanyama, have also had. After all, this is the same player who, before he even played a single college game, was selected to the Team USA Select Team, and practiced against star veterans like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, etc. During a practice game, Flagg dropped a 3-pointer over Anthony Davis, secured a baseline turnaround over Jrue Holiday, and pulled off an acrobatic putback after gaining a foul advantage over Bam Adebayo. Doing all that against the best defenders that the modern-day NBA possesses.

During his sole season with the Duke Blue Devils, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 32 games. Now, he is being touted as the next best thing for the Dallas Mavericks squad set to begin the next season without Luka Doncic.

Cooper Flagg carries the reputation of a star in the making. Bronny James carries the reputation of being the son of the NBA All-Time Scorer, who is looking to make a memorable mark within the league. Therefore, it is no secret why the ticket prices are so high. Who knows, many might simply be coming in to see Bronny get beaten badly. Fortunately, LeBron James’ eldest son still has some supporters, including one present right in front of Richard Jefferson.

Channing Frye chooses Bronny James over Cooper Flagg

While Cooper Flagg has gone up against elite college players and NBA veterans during practice games, the NBA, as a whole, is a different beast. Even if it is the Summer League. Until former NBA player Channing Frye sees how Flagg adapts to the NBA setup, he is not ready to bet on him. Bronny James is a different story, since he has divided one season between the main league and the G-League, and had some memorable games too.

During the same episode of the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast, Frye was asked, “Is Bronny or Cooper flag your man?”. Without hesitating, he answered, “I would say Bronny is probably my guy. Okay. … Because one … people took that his heart issue for granted, right? And people don’t understand that college basketball is different than every other basketball in the world, right? Even overseas, they are a somewhat of a reflection of the NBA, right? There’s…. but there’s four quarters, there’s halves, you know, all this, where college is smaller, it’s completely coached differently, it’s just its own game”.

Frye based his reasoning on the fact that “So, somebody could be great in college and then be absolutely trash in NBA, and somebody could be trash in the NBA, and … you know, vice versa. So, for me, when people are like ‘well he’s averaging this and this’, I’m like ‘So what? ’ Like, ‘so what’? Richard’s old ball head a– like 12 points”.

Well, it is not as if Bronny James did not leave a memorable impression in college, too. After all, he only averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists throughout 25 games at USC. However, Channing Frye’s point is noted. Players shouldn’t be judged until the time is right. The upcoming game will prove who is right and show whether Bronny’s experience and recent changes in conditioning can make him go up against Cooper Flagg or not.