As the son of a three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Ken Griffey Jr. had a lot of expectations placed on him when he began his Hall of Fame baseball career.
But he also had the rare experience of getting to be teammates with his father, Ken Griffey Sr., for the formative years of his career. Suffice it to say, Griffey may know a little bit of what Bronny James is going through as LeBron James’ son begins playing in his father’s shadow.
Appearing on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Griffey recalled the advice that his father gave him when they became teammates on the Seattle Mariners in 1990. Griffey said that his father taught him to just treat him like a regular teammate in the facility and go back to being father-and-son at home. But he did speak to Bronny James, and told him point-blank to just enjoy the experience and try to be himself, rather than try to be his father.
“I did tell Bronny to relax and enjoy it. Be you. You’re not gonna be him. Nobody’s him,” Griffey said.
Ken Griffey Jr had some advice for @BronnyJamesJr @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/ln48WNMiJE
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) November 5, 2024
Griffey’s probably not wrong. LeBron James has accomplished just about everything in the NBA short of winning more championships than the late-great Bill Russell. He’s the NBA’s all-time leader in scoring and has countless other achievements that would take too long to list.
Bronny James has just two points and a grand total of eight minutes played through the first seven games for the Lakers.
If Bronny plans on having any sort of NBA career beyond playing alongside his father, he’s going to need to put in a ton of work.
Related: Ken Griffey Jr.’s Comment On LeBron, Bronny Is Going Viral