Former NBA player Stephen Jackson criticized Austin Rivers because of the latter’s stance that he is against seeing LeBron James and his son Bronny team up in the pros.
“And your daddy not LeBron, shut up,” Jackson said. “Difference is you trash, Bronny not. You can’t compare to him scrub.”
Rivers has yet to play a game in the 2023-24 regular season. He suited up in 52 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022-23 regular season and averaged 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from deep.
The 31-year-old has played for seven teams — including the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets — in 11 seasons in the NBA.
The younger James, meanwhile, is in his freshman season of college basketball playing for the University of Southern California. In 14 games with the Trojans so far this season, he is averaging 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.9 steals per game on 37.2 percent shooting from the floor.
The 19-year-old is fresh off a productive performance in the Trojans’ most recent game versus Oregon State University on Feb. 3. In 31 minutes of playing time, the younger James dropped nine points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal.
The younger James’ contributions in multiple areas of the game helped lead the Trojans to their ninth win of the season. But the Trojans own just a 9-13 record at the moment.
The elder James’ team in the Los Angeles Lakers have also struggled with consistency this season. The team sits as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with a 27-25 record.
The Lakers have stacked up some wins lately, however. Los Angeles is riding a three-game winning streak after the team beat the Charlotte Hornets on the road by six points on Monday. The elder James ended up with 26 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block in just under 40 minutes.
D’Angelo Russell led Los Angeles in scoring with 28 points and also contributed six assists.
With any luck, the elder James will soon team up with the younger James in the NBA.
