In today's sports climate, there is a term for up and coming athletes who could succeed on the next level of play. This is often referred to as the "hype train."
I'm talking about kids like Zion Williamson, Lamar Jackson, and Marving Bagley III when he came out of high school. All of these athletes got attention before they even played a game at their respective levels of play, and rightfully so. But, have we as spectators started the hype train too early for some people?
Take for instance the show QB1 that airs on Netflix. Cameras follow around high schoolers that play quarterback at their respective high schools, and make them into reality TV stars before they have even gotten the opportunity to go to their own prom.
I can't help but imagine the mental burden that some of those guys carry. Some of these people can't even drive a car but here come the cameras, forcing them into early adulthood.
There's no exception of the rules of the hype train when it comes to LeBron James two sons. Take into account LeBron James Jr. as well as Bryce Maximus James. "Bronny" is a 14-year-old kid that is just starting high school, and Bryce Maximus is 10 years old.
For some reason, though these kids are already starting to get recruited by colleges, and are being shoved into the limelight by sportswriters already. Maybe it's the consequence of growing up with the best basketball player in the world being your dad, but don't these kids deserve a fair chance to experience life for themselves before being made out to be a celebrity?
In my opinion, these kids can and will be great someday. There's no denying their lineage already gives them a huge advantage physically, and they have all the potential to be superstars someday.
However, we see how fame can hurt a family (reference the Ball family), and LeBron's kids shouldn't be added to the list of people fame eats.
It only makes sense to let these kids live their life for now. Save the hype train until they have proven they can play with the big dogs, and let their game speak for themselves. For now, let's allow these guys to have a somewhat normal life.