Stephen A. Smith Rips LeBron James for Tweet on Bronny James

It goes without saying that Bronny James has some big shoes to fill when he inevitably gets into the NBA, as the USC freshman has had a rocky start to his collegiate career so far.

ESPN has released their latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft; only this time, draft experts left Bronny out this year's draft, having him as a potential prospect to come out in the 2025 NBA Draft.

LeBron James didn't take the ESPN article lightly, taking to Twitter responding to ESPN Mock Draft.

"Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball," James wrote on X.

"The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y'all don't know he doesn't care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!"

In response to LeBron's deleted tweet, ESPN's Stephen A Smith called out James on the First Take, saying the blame should be on him for putting the extra pressure on his son, Bronny James.

"This is all his fault," Smith said.

"All of it... When we get to Bronny James, that kid has done nothing but work hard... Any attention that he's warranted has been because of his daddy. 'I want to play with my son. I want to stay here until my son gets to the NBA'... When you're LeBron James, and you've put the word out that you want to be with him, you put the word out that you want to play with him, you put the word out that you would be willing to go to any NBA team that picks him up."

Smith added, "Knowing the power of LeBron James, how influential he can be. Now you gotta wonder, what team would draft Bronny James just so they could get LeBron James at age 40 or 41... When you have a mock draft that's put out, what they ain't supposed to do their job now? They do mock drafts every year... You're gonna tweet about folks needing to leave your son alone? You did that. It's not wrong, I'm not saying it's a crime. I'm just saying own it. It's you. It's not the media."

The expectations for Bronny are definitely high following the steps of his father, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and will certainly be a challenging task to live up to.

James committed to USC and prior to that has unfortunately suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice session about a year ago.

Bronny has now recovered and has been a key rotational player for USC, although the younger James still has a ways to go in his young basketball career.