Ken Griffey Jr. Shares the Guidance He Provided to Bronny James

Bronny James, a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers, is among the small number of athletes who have had to carry the weight of their father’s reputation. However, MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who has excelled the most, may understand the exact challenges that Bronny has had to encounter.

Similarly to Bronny and LeBron in the NBA, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were the first father-son pair to play on the same team in an MLB game in 1990.

It is now clear that Griffey Jr. would become one of the best outfielders in baseball history and step out of his father’s shadow. However, back then he also received criticisms akin to those Bronny is encountering at the start of his career, with some accusing him of securing his place as a Laker through alleged nepotism.

Griffey Jr.’s background qualifies him to give Bronny guidance on creating his own success in the NBA. And he recently did that before Bronny’s NBA debut, attending the event.

Bronny James was recently drafted by Lakers

Griffey Jr.’s talks about advice he gave Bronny James

During Tuesday’s Nightcap show with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Griffey Jr. talked about advising Bronny before his NBA debut. He advised him to watch LeBron on the court and to just be himself, rather than feeling pressured to match his father’s achievements.

“You’re gonna learn a lot by being able to sit there and be on the bench watching him. People say he needs to be in the G-League and he needs this and that. I’ll tell you what, I learned more sitting there watching my dad than anything. You look at all these quarterbacks who sit behind somebody and how good they end up becoming.”

“They didn’t play, they got to sit and learn a system. Learn how to be a professional, learn how to take notes and watch film and do all these things to become a pro to go out there and be successful.

“Nowadays, these first round picks, they throw them right into the fire and I feel sometimes these kids can’t ready a Cover 2 or a Cover 3 or read where the protection every day. You see that everyday. You guys pick out that stuff.

“I did tell Bronny to just relax, enjoy it, be you. You are not gonna be him. Nobody is him. When I got there, my dad told me that this is your team, I am just here. And he was dad at the house and teammate at the ball park. But like I said, there were times that I rode home with mom. It was much safer.”

Bronny may find it challenging to achieve the same level of success in the NBA as Ken Griffey Jr. did in MLB. However, he is receiving valuable guidance from someone who can truly relate to his situation.

The post Ken Griffey Jr. Shares the Guidance He Provided to Bronny James appeared first on BlackSportsOnline.