The Mad Dog has a bone to pick with Magic Johnson.
Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week, Chris Russo said he “loves” Johnson and named several of his accolades from his playing career, before chiding the former Lakers point guard for congratulating Bronny James on getting drafted by the team.
“Magic, really, we’re going to put out a tweet now congratulating Bronny James for getting selected by the Lakers with pick no. 55? Why don’t you put that for the father? That’s the only reason he’s on the team!” the Mad Dog barked.
After the younger James was drafted in late June, Johnson wrote on X, “Congratulations to Bronny James on being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers! This is a historic moment because LeBron and Bronny are the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time and on the same team. Watching Bronny suit up for the @Lakers during Summer League in Vegas will be must-see TV!”
Russo didn’t have a problem with the nepotism, per se, but fought back against the idea that it was a cause for celebration.
“He didn’t get drafted by the Lakers because he was great at USC! He got drafted because daddy’s LeBron. And I understand nepotism’s all over the place — Danny Hurley’s got his kid at UConn and nobody says a word. So I understand that,” Russo continued.
“But jeez, can we leave it alone? Not throw out whistle-stop tours and congratulate Bronny James getting selected by the Lakers, when we all know he would never have been selected with pick no. 55 if his father was signed — even if his father was signed I don’t know if they would have [picked] him. The fact that he kept that free agency sort of on the table to see if they were going to draft Bronny James is the biggest reason they drafted him to begin with.”
Bronny James signed a four-year deal with the Lakers worth up to $7.9 million, with the team holding an option for the final season of the contract.
