Former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas emphasized the influence of LA Lakers rookie Bronny James despite his on-court struggles. In a recent clip posted on X (formerly Twitter) from his show “Gil’s Arena,” Arenas pointed out how James’ social media fame has seemingly overshadowed his identity as a basketball player.

The basketball world closely followed the two-day 2024 NBA Draft, which was the first time the league extended the draft across two days. A key reason for the widespread interest was the anticipation of seeing which team would draft LeBron James’ son. On the second day, the Lakers selected James with the 55th pick, pairing him up with his father in LA.

While Bronny might be the most scrutinized rookie right now, he hasn’t played well on the court. However, Arenas said Bronny should be considered as an influencer playing basketball rather than solely as a professional athlete.

“Everyone’s judging his basketball game but nobody’s judging [Bronny] as an influencer,” Arenas said. “Sometimes, you got to look at it a little different. He’s an influencer that’s playing basketball. You’re talking about a kid who, he has more followers on social media than Patrick Mahomes. He literally has more than a three-time NFL champion.”

Arenas underscored Bronny’s impact by claiming most people watched Day 2 of the draft in anticipation of his selection.

“His influence is really, really huge. He’s gonna get chanted everywhere. This is not about his performance on basketball. Whoever they were going to pick at 55, I’m pretty sure could’ve picked at 56, 57, 58, 59. And if I ask you who those people are, you don’t know. Because most of the worled stopped watching after 55. The reason it was a second round draft night was because of 55.”

Arenas went on to claim that the NBA is making revenue off the rookie, which is why they’re giving him the attention most second-round picks don’t get to have.

NBA scout questions the Lakers for drafting Bronny James

There has been some criticism about the Lakers for drafting Bronny James, with some people questioning the decision. That includes an unnamed NBA scout, who, according to a report by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, believes that the young guard has been set up for failure.

The Eastern Conference scout said:

“You’re set up for failure. It’s like, what’s the expectation here?”

In four preseason games, Bronny has tallied four total points in 16 attempts from the field, as well as five turnovers.