Just this past offseason, when the Lakers drafted Bronny James in the second round, the NBA community erupted. They accused LeBron James of nepotism for drafting his elder son to the Lakers. It led to a media meltdown, with many celebrated analysts discarding the move as a product of ‘influence’. Well, the NBA world heard those comments. And now, they are after justice.

Why are they demanding some understanding for the 20-year-old Lakers prospect? Recently, the Utah Jazz made a hire. They took the Celtics’ assistant general manager, Austin Ainge, to be their president of basketball operations. Ainge has worked extensively with the Celtics, spending 14 seasons with the Shamrocks. Particularly, he was part of building the glistening core that won a championship last year. But the name must sound familiar, right? The connection most of you must have made is indeed correct.

Austin is the son of Danny Ainge, largely seen as one of the great minds in the front office. He started to work for the Celtics with his father first, gaining experience. However, even when Danny Ainge left in 2021 to join the Jazz, the 43-year-old continued to work with the Celtics. Now the duo is back together, looking to repair the league-worst Jazz team. Within the franchise, there’s a lot of excitement.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Austin Ainge as our new president of basketball operations. Austin is one of the brightest minds in the NBA — his 17 years with the Celtics have given him incredible insight into every part of an organization,” Utah’s team governor, Ryan Smith, told ESPN.

But amidst the Utah Jazz’s celebrations, the NBA world is perplexed. Or rather, they are asking for equality. Seeing another father-son duo unite with the same franchise, they expect the analysts to maintain the same kind of tone as they had  for Bronny James.

Does this get the same attention as Bronny James?

Imagine the situation that Bronny James came into. He was 19 and a second-round pick. Still, all attention was focused on his performance. A bad night meant the next day, the media would talk about him being in the league because of his father. Well, his fans remember. So, watching Austin Ainge join his father, they voiced out.

One fan wrote, “I wanna see all the people who b****ed about Bronny and nepotism to keep the same energy with this. But they won’t,” in defense of the 20-year-old. More comments chimed in. “Let’s see if there’s the same outrage we saw with Bronny,” another fan mentioned.

In Bronny James’ case, the whirlwind caused was huge. He didn’t play enough college basketball because he suffered a cardiac arrest during training camp. Yet, analysts acted as if he didn’t have any credentials to stand on, although he was a four-star recruit out of high school.

Hence, fans stepped up for him. “This is why ppl complaining about Bronny never made any sense to me,” a fan wrote. Some, though, were not a fan of what they term nepotism. “From assistant GM straight to president of basketball operations. Pro sports nepotism is wild,” a comment resonated.

Not to play devil’s advocate to these fans, but the situations are different. Bronny James didn’t have a full freshman season with UNC. Hence, it was hard to evaluate him against other prospects. But still, a modest second-round pick didn’t hurt anybody enough to cause the storm that it did.

On the other hand, Austin Ainge is a legacy product. He has observed and worked with Danny Ainge with the Celtics. Furthermore, even after his father left, the now Jazz employee still carved out his own reputation, continuing to deliver for the Celtics.

Danny Ainge may still have had a hand in his hire. But as Ryan Smith said, “I’ve watched him grow into an accomplished, innovative and strategic basketball executive who’s ready to lead this organization,”. With a blank canvas to paint, this might be a great opportunity for Austin Ainge to announce himself for such priority positions. And just like Bronny James, what will matter in the end is how he performs.