"One Of The Best Days Of My Life" - LeBron Postgame On Bronny Going To USC, Not The 30-Point Drubbing Of The Warriors

Matt Fitzgerald5/07/2023 1:00 PM

Not here to argue the merits of LeBron James' greatness or put anyone who dislikes him on blast. Not too much at least. Nah. It's Saturday into Sunday morning, the weekend weather here in the greater New York City area is beautiful, and I'm more into positive vibes at the minute thank you very much. Pretty mild winter overall, but the weather is kind right now. Pathetic fallacy. Alright? OK.

So yeah...LeBron being a proud dad on the day Bronny James decided to commit to USC is pretty damn special considering what had just transpired in Game 3 of the conference semifinals. LeBron has played in so many massive games that maybe that played a factor, because of course the job isn't finished yet. He did put up an efficient 21-8-8 stat line with zero turnovers, though, and for those who obsess over how self-obsessed he purportedly is, it'd have been easy to gloat about all this:

That's not what happened in the immediate aftermath of Game 3, nor did LeBron neglect to expound even more on Bronny's call to attend USC. That news dropped right around the time of the Kentucky Derby, so may have gotten lost in the shuffle for some. Plus, there was a pretty damn big primetime NBA matchup about to go down.

You can be pretty cynical about all the times LeBron lies about really trivial shit and poke at his character for those sort of silly things, but like, if that's the worst thing about him, isn't that not so bad for someone who was expected to be the next Michael Jordan from the time he was a teenager? I can't imagine the pressure.

Despite dedicating his life to maximizing his NBA potential to challenge MJ as the GOAT for 20 seasons, on a night where LeBron and the Lakers blew the reigning champion Warriors off the court 127-97, The King focused on his first-born prince. OK that was corny as fuck. Apologies. LOL. I had to make you cringe if you hadn't already. Hope you caught it instead of angry-rapid scrolling down to the comments to decry yet another LeBron blog.

Bottom line is, whatever you think about LeBron, recognize that he's crushing it in the dad department from what we've seen over the years. That shouldn't be overlooked or underappreciated. That Bronny hasn't totally cracked under the weight of his family name and the increasingly more vulnerable by the day, white-hot spotlight of this social media era is a credit to himself and also to the job LeBron and his wife Savannah have done to balance that much exposure and still letting Bronny be his own person.

Obviously by me writing this blog, I recognize the sort of contradiction inherent in making this about LeBron when really it's about something Bronny has accomplished on his own merits. Good thing I wrote the Bronny story earlier, eh?

Anyway USC basketball is gonna be dope. The Trojans also have the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country in Isaiah Collier. I suspect Collier will definitely start alongside Bronny in a new-look backcourt. You thought USC's tradition of excellence was back on the gridiron with Lincoln Riley at the helm and a Heisman Trophy winner at QB in Caleb Williams? Just watch what happens to the school's basketball program once Collier and Bronny set foot on campus. What a scene that's gonna be.

With Bronny staying in LA while dad plays for the Lakers, it's gonna be one hell of a hoops scene in the City of Angels at the collegiate and professional levels. Then we presumably will see Bronny and LeBron team up on the same NBA squad at some point in the next two or three years. This is like some Ken Griffey Sr./Junior shit but somehow better. To do it in such a physically taxing sport as basketball? In the NBA?? Are you kidding me!?!?

OK final reminder. Shoutout KOC. Don't shove LeBron out of the leeeeeeeague just yet, and don't downplay or dismiss his character on or off the court. Please. Thank you.