Pac-12 Networks posts absurd Bronny James graphic

Over the years, there have been a lot of questionable graphics from networks. The latest comes from the Pac-12 Networks ahead of the Stanford-USC men’s basketball game Saturday night. There, they put up one of the traditional graphics showing off stats from notable players, but picked some unusual not-stats for Bronny James:

https://twitter.com/laurencowling/status/1743740172892606726

LMAO? pic.twitter.com/5Lnd8WR8xz

— x – William D. Hendrix (@NotSpecificNY) January 6, 2024

Look, it’s perhaps possible to come up with the thought process that led to this. James, son of NBA star LeBron James, is absolutely a notable figure on the Trojans, and a reason why people are tuning into USC MBB games. But his 2023-24 stats (seven games played, 6.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game) are not that impressive. But they come with the context of minutes restrictions for him following a cardiac arrest earlier this year, with his return to the USC team (which, in game action terms, came in a game against Notre Dame broadcast on Pac-12 Networks last month) relatively limited so far. But even those limited stats, perhaps with some context on his minutes restrictions, would have looked better than “winner, team player.”

This is far from the first absurd graphic we’ve seen on a broadcast. One particular classic comes from the then-Fox Sports Indiana’s 2018 attempt to elevate Thaddeus Young to the level of James, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird thanks to some very specific statistical criteria. But there have been many more, including a couple this weekend. Still, it’s funny to see this. And it’s funny to see it on P12 Nets, which have their overall future in high question with 10 of the current 12 schools (including USC) leaving the conference this summer. Yes, the Trojans are only a Pac-12 member for the moment, but they still deserved better than this.

[Lauren Cowling on Twitter]