RICH PAUL WAS sitting on a couch inside his spacious, glass-walled corner office in Beverly Hills. It was a warm, mid-September afternoon, and he was surrounded by testaments to his success: framed magazine profiles, signed memorabilia, a whiteboard with financial projections, a bar cart with top-shelf tequila and champagne. He pointed to a wall.

On the other side of it, Paul told ESPN, was the very spot where just a few months ago he and Bronny James discussed the decision of whether to stay in college or declare for the NBA draft.

Inside that office, Paul said, Bronny was signing basketball cards when they began outlining his options. Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, was blunt. He had canvassed executives from across the NBA and said he told Bronny he was not projected to be a first-round pick in the draft in late June, that he was probably a second-round pick, if that. That he could even go undrafted.

Paul asked Bronny what he wanted to do.

“I just want to hear my name called,” Bronny told him.

“Do you care where it’s at?” Paul asked.

“No,” Bronny replied.

There had long been chatter about Bronny playing with his father, that LeBron James had influenced the decision that ultimately saw the Los Angeles Lakers pick the younger James in the second round of the NBA draft, in some way.

“Nobody pressured Bronny to go pro,” Paul said. “Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else or he had a choice to go pro.”

This was Bronny’s call, Paul said, and Bronny’s alone — and one that publicly and privately drew immediate criticism.

Since the end of summer league in late July, during which Bronny averaged 7.0 points on 32.7% shooting along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in six games, he has traveled to Paris to watch his father win his third Olympic gold medal for Team USA. He has worked out with Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.

Paul said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, has told him that Bronny has been a fixture at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, California — that Bronny is the first one in the gym to work with the team’s player development staff, and that he has worked to shake off the rust; he played only 25 games at USC last season after surviving a sudden cardiac arrest in July 2023.

At media day on Sept. 30, LeBron and Bronny posed for photos together as teammates. They sat side by side during an interview with the team’s television partner, ribbing each other about a play the previous week at practice when LeBron drove baseline and scored on his son.

Sitting in front of rows of reporters, Bronny twice referenced the criticism about his decision to go pro. He said he wanted to “tune out all the noise and tune out all the people that don’t think I should be here” and that he wanted to turn all the “criticism and backlash” into fuel.

During a 118-114 preseason loss Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns, Bronny and LeBron made history when they became the first father-son duo to share the court in an NBA game. In 16 minutes, LeBron scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting; Bronny, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, missed his only shot attempt — a 3-pointer — while committing four turnovers in 13:25 of action.

Back in his office, Paul defended Bronny time and again.

“Bronny is serious,” Paul said. “This isn’t a f—ing game for him. He wants to play in the NBA, and he wants to play well within his role.”

Others around the NBA — even those who praise Bronny as a person and boast about the numerous intangibles he possesses that they’d want in a player — remain skeptical.

“The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “If they had any real idea of how far away Bronny is, they just would not have done this.”

Paul is keenly aware of the narrative around Bronny and wants to shift it.

But that narrative has only deepened. In interviews with nearly two dozen front office executives, coaches and scouts across the league, those who for years have tracked Bronny’s journey to the NBA, a two-part consensus has emerged: That Bronny James, the most famous second-round pick in league history, not only isn’t ready for the NBA but was also drafted by the one team that presents the most challenging dynamic for him to succeed. That the daily cacophony of noise surrounding him on the Lakers will be both deafening and defeating. And that the feel-good storyline of Bronny James playing alongside his father will soon give way to the reality of Bronny James the NBA player.

“You’re set up for failure,” one Eastern Conference scout who has evaluated Bronny for years said. “It’s like, what’s the expectation here?”

FROM THE SIDELINE, a veteran NBA scout watched Bronny move across Wintrust Arena in Chicago. It was May 14, the start of the NBA combine, and six television cameras trailed his every move. “I was absolutely shocked,” the scout said.

The scout knew the then-19-year old’s lineage commanded global attention and intense intrigue. He had watched Bronny play for Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. He had watched him play at the 2023 Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, Oregon. He had watched him play during his freshman season at USC, where Bronny averaged 4.8 points — on 36.6% shooting from the field and 26.7% on 3-pointers — plus 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

But, more than that, he said, Bronny is LeBron’s son, and if he is anything remotely close to the once-in-a-generation player that his father is, then Bronny, at the very least, warranted a look.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job as an evaluator if I didn’t write a report,” he said.

As this scout watched Bronny, he began to take notes. Bronny was humble, he noted, appeared to be coachable, played unselfishly; that he had the reputation of having a strong work ethic and a high basketball IQ, that he was well-built physically and a good athlete. It noted Bronny played hard, played the right way, that he was a good teammate, that he cared and had great character. That he loved the game.

What the report didn’t say was that Bronny was an NBA prospect. At best, he was a “secondary” one, “someone you have on your radar, but not a priority,” the scout later said. For the ideal intangibles that Bronny possessed, he was lacking in talent. Was Bronny an NBA player? Not right now, the scout said, echoing multiple other front office executives and scouts. Would Bronny ever be an NBA player? The scout wasn’t sure, nor were those same league sources.

What complicated matters further was Bronny’s medical history. He had lingering effects from the surgery to address his congenital heart defect, he’d said, affecting an already abbreviated freshman season. That he had come back to play that fall was impressive, but it also meant any evaluation by NBA officials was incomplete.

The next day in Chicago, Bronny sat at a table in a corner of the arena for a news conference. He said he wanted to emulate Boston’s Derrick White and Jrue Holiday and Sacramento’s Davion Mitchell, three defense-focused guards. Talent evaluators noted the comparisons, saying they represented realism from the young guard. “He knows who he is,” one scout said. “He knows what he can do.” Nine minutes into the 20-minute session, the most tantalizing storyline was broached: How would Bronny feel about playing alongside his father?

The context centered on his father’s 2022 comments to The Athletic: “My last year will be played with my son.” LeBron walked that remark back in 2023, telling ESPN he wanted to share the court with his son “either in the same uniform or a matchup against him.” Either way, LeBron had made his desires clear. Bronny distanced himself from the idea.

“My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and of course, you know, get to the NBA, which is everyone’s end goal that is here,” Bronny said. “I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course he’s brought it up a couple times.”

Reporters laughed.

Bronny added later, “I just want to have people know my name is Bronny James and not being identified as just LeBron James’ son.”

His comments carried an unmistakable but impossible aim — to forge a path outside the shadow of his father.

During a scrimmage the next day, LeBron sat in the second row at center court, wearing a black hoodie, next to his wife and Bronny’s mother, Savannah, to watch Bronny play in a scrimmage. Bronny played well, scoring 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes. He was named player of the game and, wearing a headset, did a postgame interview on the ESPN broadcast while his mom recorded the moment on her phone. LeBron looked on with pride, smiling from ear to ear.

play

Bronny James drops in two nice floaters at the NBA combine

Bronny James buries two high-arcing floaters at the NBA scouting combine.

TWO WEEKS LATER, on May 29, Paul told ESPN that Bronny would be keeping his name in the NBA draft.

It was a decision several front office executives and scouts privately and quickly denounced as a mistake, saying Bronny needed more time to develop, that he wasn’t ready for the professional game. The whispers quickly crescendoed into conventional wisdom.

“He should have stayed in school,” one Western Conference executive said. “No doubt about it.”

“In a normal world, he would’ve been a really good four-year college player,” one Eastern Conference scout said.

“For this whole thing to have even made it this far is surreal,” another Western Conference executive said. “Analytically, if you just had the numbers on a page and had no name attached to it, he doesn’t project in any way, shape or form to be an NBA player. His measurables don’t project as an NBA player. There’s literally nothing about him on paper — if no name is attached to it — that makes this make sense.”

Other executives and scouts said they didn’t think Bronny was good enough to be drafted, even late in the second round, but understood the allure.

That he was LeBron’s son carried enormous weight — but not necessarily in a bad way, another Eastern Conference executive said.

“It’s not just the name, it’s not just that he’s LeBron James’ son, it’s that he was raised by LeBron James,” the executive said. “If anybody takes a ‘gamble’ on Bronny James, they’re getting the most incubated basketball player ever.

“He’s not going to embarrass your franchise ever,” the executive added. “He’s going to work his f—ing ass off. Because what LeBron James will never tolerate is any intel that his kid isn’t a hard worker.”

LeBron’s son is an identity unto itself, one from which to escape and another into which to lean. Because of Bronny’s lineage, the conversation around his career would be discussed solely as a binary, another Eastern Conference executive said.

On one side of it, Bronny would reach the league only because he was LeBron’s son — or he wouldn’t, because he wasn’t good enough, which would mean he was a bust and fell short of his father’s greatness.

“That’s unfair to a kid who’s otherwise a pretty good basketball player,” that executive said.

There needed to be room for a middle ground, he said, a path in which he spent years in the G League, potentially developing into an NBA reserve player, a defensive specialist. Maybe he played for a few teams. Maybe he played for a few years. Maybe that’s all his NBA career would be.

“And that’s totally fine.” the executive said.

Even that path, other talent evaluators said, wouldn’t be easy.

“There are great guys in the G League, but they do not want to be in the G League,” one Western Conference scout said. “They want to be in the NBA, and some of whom are in their mid-to-late 20s. All of them are trying to put food on their table for their families, and whatever that takes, they’re going to do. I think his last name will be thrown out the window.”

play

James family reacts to moment Bronny was drafted by Lakers

Bryce James captures the moment his brother Bronny was drafted by the Lakers in front of his family.

WHEN BRONNY MADE his USC debut in December against Long Beach State, Pelinka sat courtside. He later said doing so was a sign of support for LeBron, who told Pelinka he hoped Pelinka was scouting Bronny, too, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported. Internally, insiders say, the Lakers believed Bronny played the game the right way and could be molded over time into a “3-and-D” specialist.

Drafting Bronny would be a basketball decision, those insiders said, but only in part. The Lakers are famously a franchise that cares deeply about star players, both in acquiring them and accommodating them. They knew LeBron had a dream to one day play with his son.

It was all part of the calculus.

After Bronny’s individual workout with the team on June 13, the Lakers had decided with near certainty to draft him — and there wasn’t much disagreement, team insiders say. Bronny represented a low-risk, high-reward pick who checked several boxes for the franchise. It would be a compelling story and a chance at history, and the Lakers have long been an organization that prioritizes both.

But drafting Bronny wouldn’t come without complications, one Lakers insider said, a sentiment shared by executives and scouts across the NBA.

The head coach would face almost daily questions about Bronny, multiple team and league sources said. Every minute of his on-court performance in practice and in the G League would be heavily scrutinized. If Bronny struggled, the Lakers’ global fan base, combined with LeBron’s, would target the franchise with endless criticism. Questions would surface about whether the team was properly developing him, how it was doing so, what more it could be doing. If Bronny succeeded, questions would flow the other direction, about him receiving more of an opportunity, all within the shrinking timeline of a father and a son playing NBA basketball together.

“The worst possible situation for him to develop,” a Western Conference executive said.

“If I was on the Lakers’ staff, I would do anything not to be the one tasked with developing Bronny because he’s not going to make tangible progress that will show up in good stat lines or anything,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “Even if you do a good job getting him better, his performance would be a disappointment to the fans. I think it’ll be more of a challenge for the team that drafts him than it will be for him.”

The day before the NBA draft, Bronny joined his father and his younger brother, Bryce, at a Manhattan gym inside a luxury residential complex. The space is frequented by NBA players, including LeBron, who went through a series of drills with his sons. They launched 3-pointers and soared through the air for dunks.

Bronny wasn’t one of the prospects invited to the green room on either day in the first year the NBA draft was split over two days. Instead, Bronny, family and close friends watched the second round from a private dinner party in New York. Paul joined them, as did LeBron’s mother, Gloria. As the Lakers’ 55th pick neared, ESPN analyst Bob Myers — the former general manager of the Golden State Warriors — reported during the broadcast that Paul had been calling teams and telling them not to select Bronny and that, if they did, he would play in Australia instead. It was a naked and deft attempt to steer Bronny to the Lakers.

Inside the Lakers’ training facility, a number of executives and Pelinka had gathered in a conference room. A day earlier, the team had drafted Tennessee swingman Dalton Knecht with its first-round pick — and there was little suspense inside the war room about whom the team would be taking at pick No. 55, one Lakers insider said.

When the moment arrived, Lakers executives in the room stood and applauded. Newly hired Lakers coach JJ Redick and Pelinka hugged and shook hands. Back in New York, a full-suited Bronny sat on a couch facing a flat-screen television airing the draft. Paul sat next to him. Bronny looked at the screen as Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, announced his name. “Yessir, yessir!” his brother Bryce said as he recorded the scene.

Surrounded by friends and family, Savannah handed Bronny a Lakers hat and wiped a tear from her eye. Bronny placed it on his head as highlights from his time at USC aired in front of him. He looked down at his hands, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. LeBron stood behind him, beaming. When Bronny was about 5 or 6, LeBron had watched him play in a youth league in Akron, Ohio. He remembered Bronny grabbing a rebound, driving the length of the court, through the lane, through a couple of kids, laying it in and trotting back down court.

LeBron turned to Savannah. “He’s special,” he told her. “What? He’s 5 years old. What are you talking about?” he recalled her responding. “I’ve seen this before,” he said. “I know. I’ve seen this before.” On the night Bronny was drafted, LeBron brought the story back up to Savannah, he said during an appearance with the team’s broadcast partner, Spectrum SportsNet. She remembered it.

“The biggest moments in sports happen with the Lakers,” Pelinka said afterward to reporters, “That’s how we’re built and we’re excited to see this story unfold.”

ON JULY 2, 10 television cameras on a raised platform focused their lens on Bronny, who sat in front of a black backdrop covered with Lakers logos. He was at the Lakers’ training facility for an introductory news conference for the team’s draft picks, which included the 6-foot-6 Knecht.

In the front row to one side, 10 seats had been reserved for guests. Savannah and Rich Paul sat on the far end, near the aisle. Off to the side, on an opposite court, stood LeBron, with his arms crossed, in a black hoodie, gray shorts and sneakers.

“Everything has been surreal,” Bronny told the assembled media. “I’m trying to take it all in. I’m extremely grateful for everything that JJ and Rob have given to me. I’ve just been extremely excited to get to work.”

Redick, sitting beside Bronny, interjected.

“Rob and I did not give Bronny anything. Bronny has earned this, right?” Redick said. “Bronny talks about his hard work. Bronny has earned this through hard work. And for us prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like, case study one, because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing … there’s a lot to like about his game.”

Redick’s emphasis on player development would represent a dramatic shift for a Lakers franchise that for decades has focused on superstars: getting them, pleasing them, keeping them. For the Lakers, player development hasn’t been so much an afterthought as simply unnecessary. But league executives note Bronny could overhaul the Lakers’ long-held ethos. By selecting Bronny, the Lakers will be forced into heavily investing in and developing a late second-round pick, because doing so would mean satisfying that original ethos: accommodating their biggest star.

“He’s going to have more resources for a late second-round pick [than anyone] in NBA history, because of LeBron,” one Western Conference executive said. “He’s going to have the best trainer, the best dieticians, the best player development people, the best everybody. Second-rounders are often treated like a dime a dozen. They’re not given proper attention. That won’t be him. He will have every opportunity. The question is, what does he do with it?”

Back at the lectern, Bronny fielded a dozen questions, six of which referenced his father, including four in a row at one point — the last asking if he believed it would be easier to transition to the NBA given that he grew up with a father who played in it. He bristled.

“I had my own basketball stuff going on,” Bronny said, “so I wasn’t really, you know, in my dad’s pocket all day, you know, following him around the Lakers facility.”

At 10 years old, his youth basketball highlights went viral. When Bronny created an Instagram page in 2019, it gained 1 million followers in his first day. ESPN aired his high school games at Sierra Canyon, where LeBron’s media company, “Uninterrupted,” dispatched a documentary crew to film. But as LeBron’s career advanced, and as Bronny’s did the same, the storyline of them playing together in the NBA became even more compelling and inspired relentless debate, which LeBron helped fuel. It hasn’t ceased, cementing the conflict of Bronny James the storyline and Bronny James the player.

“At some point the rubber meets the road and you have to actually be a good player,” one Eastern Conference executive said.

After the news conference ended and reporters filed out, Bronny changed into his No. 9 Lakers uniform and headed to a makeshift photo studio at the far end of a court. His father and mother joined him for some portraits.

The next day, Bronny signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the Lakers, reaching his rookie deal on the same day his father agreed to an extension with the team. The pairing was set. They would become the first father-son duo in NBA history.

play

Bronny James enters to an ovation in USC debut

Brony James makes his USC debut to a standing ovation from the fans and with his father, LeBron, on the sideline.

WITH ICE PACKS on his knees, Bronny stood before a group of reporters in the depths of the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas. It was July 17, and the Lakers had just earned their first summer league win, 87-86 over the Atlanta Hawks, ending an 0-5 start.

In his first four summer league games, which included a pair in San Francisco, Bronny had averaged just 4.3 points on 22.6% shooting, and missed all 15 of his 3-point attempts. In that span, he had totaled the same number of turnovers as made shots: seven.

“What we saw is what happens when you put a guy who’s not really close to ready in these settings,” one Eastern Conference executive said.

But against the Hawks, who were without four starters, including No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, Bronny had his best summer league showing. On the first play of the game, with members of the Lakers’ ownership group sitting courtside near half court, Bronny curled off a screen and sank a contested 17-foot pull-up jumper, completing a designed play and drawing cheers. Later, he swished a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key.

By halftime, Bronny tallied nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. He sank a contested corner 3-pointer to tie the score late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

In every game he played, fans called for him to shoot or drive each time he touched the ball; every time he passed, they groaned. When he lined up a shot, anticipation swelled across the arena; when he missed, the disappointment seemed to vibrate.

When he wasn’t in the game, fans chanted “We Want Bronny!” When he was, fans chanted “Bron-ny!” Cameras tracked his every move. Standing before reporters after the win against the Hawks, Bronny acknowledged the unusual environment, saying he leaned on the support of his family, adding that he’s “just trying to stay sane.”

The attention on Bronny had been overwhelming and ubiquitous. His likeness greeted travelers from the center of baggage claim carousels at Harry Reid International Airport, where illuminated signage promoted summer league with, “Tomorrow’s Stars Play Here.” Bronny was in the foreground, along with Alex Sarr, the French center drafted second overall by the Washington Wizards. In the background, there was Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick the year before who had established himself as a potential future NBA MVP, and Jalen Brunson, who had gone from being a second-round pick to a superstar with the New York Knicks.

The same league-official signage could be seen across a city that, for a two-week period, represented the beating heart of the NBA, with all 30 teams present to play 76 globally televised games. And when Bronny arrived on the afternoon of July 12, a phalanx of photographers, videographers and content creators chronicled his entrance through security on the loading dock. Soon after, as Bronny ran through the tunnel, nearly three dozen media members rushed after him, toward the baseline, occupying virtually every inch of available real estate.

In his final summer league game, Bronny finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 25 minutes. The Lakers beat the Cavaliers 93-89 and LeBron shared Bronny’s highlights on Instagram. “It’s been good for me to loosen up,” Bronny said afterward.

Still, multiple scouts and executives who followed Bronny’s performance were unmoved from their initial skepticism.

“There’s going to be so much internal pressure for him to come up from the G League, but he shouldn’t spend a single minute with the Lakers this year,” one Western Conference executive said.

During a recent appearance on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show, Lakers legend Magic Johnson, formerly the team’s president of basketball operations, was blunt.

“If I’m Bronny, I would tell my dad, ‘Just let me play in the G League all season so that I can develop.’ He needs playing time. He doesn’t need to be sitting on the Laker bench and not playing,” Johnson said. “That’s not a knock against him — he’s just not ready.”

play

Dalton Knecht finds Bronny James for the dunk

Lakers get out in transition as Dalton Knecht finds an open Bronny James for the jam.

IN HIS BEVERLY HILLS office, Paul looked out the window. He had attended summer league. He’d sat courtside, heard all the groans and cheers and chants.

“That environment for the 55th pick in the draft shows you that it’s a new day,” Paul said. “For our league, this young man just so happens to be not the first, but probably the first impactful influencer slash basketball player that happens to be on one of the most historical franchises in NBA history.”

The mention of Bronny as an influencer hung in the air.

“The public and media have spent about 95% of their oxygen on this,” one Western Conference executive said. “The league has spent about 5% of its oxygen on this. It’s a story for people who are invested in entertainment. It is a cool story that LeBron gets to play with his son, but at the end of the day, you have to separate LeBron from his son at some point and make sure that his son has an opportunity to have a long-term career and not just 15 minutes of white-hot fame.”

Said another Western Conference executive: “His success or failure as a basketball player needs to be measured over a length of time that social media and the media won’t give him. People will pass judgment on him negatively faster because they’re just seeing so much of him. And that’s really unfair. Every other player with his level of preparedness has gotten more time because people just don’t give a s—. He’s not going to get the benefit of that.”

Paul says he knows Bronny isn’t the first player to enter the draft with concerns he wasn’t ready. There have been lottery picks who didn’t reach their second contract, Paul said, and undrafted players who earned a max contract. There is no perfect answer. But making the NBA is what Bronny wanted: “That’s his dream.”

And once Bronny made that decision, Paul said it was his job to help Bronny land on a team that would show a real investment in development. “And the best way to show that investment is through the lens of guaranteed money,” Paul said.

But Paul also knows the questions about the pairing with LeBron will be unending.

“I think the sooner we can get past it, the better,” Paul said. “And look, there’s a world where Bronny will look back on it, and his dad will be done playing, and he’ll appreciate his willingness to lean in to playing with his dad because it’s a cool thing. Whichever way you want to flip the mirror, it’s a cool thing. But for right now, where the two are at, I think it’s even cooler for his dad.”

After Sunday’s preseason game, LeBron expressed joy in playing alongside his son. “For a father, it means everything,” LeBron said. “For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son, be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that’s one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for.”

Still, doubt remains.

“I think there’s the foundation of a defensive-minded combo guard there, but we never got to see it bloom,” one Western Conference executive said. “With a different last name, we’re not having this conversation. That’s just the fact. His résumé is light at best. He got here because of the last name. Now it’s time to see and grade that decision. We’ll be able to grade it in three years, but if it doesn’t involve serious, dedicated G League time, I don’t think he has a chance.”

During summer league, Redick said in interviews that Bronny would indeed spend time in the G League with the team’s South Bay Lakers, and later added, in an ESPN podcast with Zach Lowe, that “The G League is not a demotion. I look at [the South Bay Lakers] as an extension of our team.” During media day, LeBron added, “We’re all one team. We’re a reflection of the South Bay, the South Bay is a reflection of us.”

The fact that Bronny is represented by Klutch — the same agency that also represents his father and Lakers star Anthony Davis — creates the expectation the team needs to devote every available resource to developing Bronny and that, if the Lakers fault in doing so, then they’d no doubt earn the ire of LeBron and Klutch.

“Do you potentially end up burning a bridge with Klutch and Rich if it doesn’t work out?” one Eastern Conference scout asked.

“What it comes down to is,” the scout asked, “is the juice worth the squeeze?”

Several league executives expect this first season to be especially challenging for Bronny, that the constant noise will be nearly impossible to quiet. “He’s got to have very thick skin,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “He may have it just because he’s had to deal with the spotlight all his life.”

Paul says he believes that to be the case.

“If anyone can handle it, it’s him,” Paul said. “I told Bronny, it’s admirable to me that you’re choosing to even go through this process. You don’t have to put yourself through this.”

But Bronny chose this path, which Paul appreciates.

“To me, we should be looking at this kid and saying, man, that’s admirable,” Paul said, “but because you’re judging him with one eye on him and one eye on his dad and how you feel about his dad, good, bad or indifferent, you critique him at a different level.”

That level, one Western Conference executive said, will be extreme.

“The ‘hot take’ culture we’re in and people’s desire to pass judgment powerfully, one direction or another, [means] you’re going to have people saying things like, ‘One of the biggest failures of all time’ and ‘He only got a chance because of the dad,'” the executive said. “The haters will get louder when they know his results have dictated that. That’s the thing that’s so unfair because the bar should have never been set so high. He will have failed on a greater scale than anybody else, even if he succeeds in meeting his potential. That’s the thing that I think sucks.”

While one could suggest that Bronny’s health scare robbed him of time to develop, Paul offers another view: that the incident created a sense of urgency. “So you’re talking about time? F— time,” Paul said. “The time is now.”

He says he believes there are no downsides to Bronny’s decision, no cons.

“There’s only pros,” Paul said. “He’s the first player to only have pros.”

Back in his office, Paul leaned back on the couch and seemed at ease. One of the league’s biggest power brokers passionately defended Bronny, batting away criticisms and concerns and countering others. He imagined the season ahead, eager for a front-row seat to history.

“It’s all about the way it’s handled,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “If it’s handled the right way … beautiful.”