Sports commentator Jason Whitlock accused LeBron James of using his influence to pave the college basketball career of his young son, Bryce James. Bryce made his debut start for Arizona in an 84-75 defeat to UCLA on Monday. In six minutes on either side of the half, Bryce shot 0-for-3, including 0-for-2 from the 3-point line, and recorded one assist.
Bryce's disappointing night allowed Whitlock to once again criticize James, who previously faced the heat for elder son Bronny James' NBA draft selection a couple of years back, on his "Fearless" show.
"Bryce James is a Make-A-Wish kid," Whitlock said. "They played this man three minutes. Arizona, the No. 5 team in the country last night, gave Bryce James, LeBron's youngest son, a start against UCLA, and Arizona got beat. They played him three minutes at the beginning of the first half and three minutes at the beginning of the second half, and that's it. He has no business on the Arizona basketball team, and LeBron is forcing them to give him token starts."
The only contribution from Bryce, a sophomore who did not play as a freshman last season, was his no-look pass to Ivan Kharchenkov for Arizona's first basket of the season. However, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd subbed out Bryce just 3:08 into the game.
Starting Bryce was not completely unexpected. Lloyd had started him in all three preseason games. Moreover, the Wildcats were also without expected starting power forward RJ Godfrey.
In the end, despite Kharchenkov's 38 points and 10 rebounds, No. 5 Arizona fell 84-75 to No. 22 UCLA.
It came as a surprise to many when LeBron James' elder son, Bronny James, was selected 55th in the 2024 NBA draft by the LA Lakers.
On his "Fearless" show in May 2024, Jason Whitlock used the same "Make-A-Wish" analogy for Bronny as well while accusing James of using his influence over the Lakers to draft Bronny.
"LeBron James is selfish and narcissistic. To live out his own fantasy, he's willing to make his child a prop, and a 'Make-A-Wish' kid in the NBA," Whitlock said before the draft .
Whitlock argued that Bronny doesn't deserve to be in the NBA and would always be recognized as a "Make-A-Wish" kid.
"I'm sure Bronny will love being in the NBA with his dad, but everybody in that league behind his back is going to be calling him a 'Make-A-Wish' kid. You know what a 'Make-A-Wish' kid is, right? You ever see college football teams during their spring game? They'll bring out a little autistic kid or some kid who's physically compromised and let him score a touchdown. LeBron's going to do that to his 6-(foot)-4 perfectly healthy son. His son is mimicking the mentality of his dad and going to go along with that. This is unprecedented."
The Lakers' draft selection created an opportunity for LeBron and Bronny to become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA simultaneously. The father-son ambition was realized on Oct. 22, 2024, during the Lakers' season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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