NBA fans react as Bronny James technically gets drafted higher than Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL icon Deion Sanders, experienced a surprising fall as he remained undrafted through the first two days and three rounds of the NFL draft. NBA fans drew comparisons to Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, who was selected 55th overall by his dad’s team, the LA Lakers.

Heading into the draft, Shedeur was widely projected as a top-three quarterback prospect. However, through three rounds, five quarterbacks had already been taken — none of them Shedeur — with three coming off the board during Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday.

NBA fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to weigh in, suggesting Shedeur could’ve used the type of influence LeBron wields in the NBA to help Bronny James get drafted.

“Bronny James was drafted higher than Shedeur Sanders,” one NBA fan posted.

“Yeah cause bron run the league Deion not run the nfl lol,” one responded.

“If only Deion was still in the league he could have gotten his son drafted,” another fan said.

“Bronny is better in basketball than Shadeur is in football,” another said.

Others claimed that Bronny might not have been drafted at all if the NBA followed the NFL’s seven-round draft structure, since the NBA only has two rounds.

“NBA only has 2 rounds bronny would’ve been undrafted,” one said.

“Bro we HAVE TO STOP SAYING THIS 😭 there are only two rounds in the nba draft the nfl draft has seven,” another said.

“Goes to show how awful the NBA draft is,” another added.

Bronny James critic Stephen A. Smith reacts to Shedeur Sanders slide in NFL draft

Known critic of Bronny James, Stephen A. Smith has often argued that Bronny James isn’t NBA-ready and blamed LeBron for accelerating his son’s path to the league — insisting the Lakers only drafted him because of LeBron.

Yet even Smith found Shedeur’s draft fall shocking.

“This is a damn disgrace,” Smith tweeted Friday. “How in the hell is (Shedeur) not off the board, not drafted yet. Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on (Deion Sanders).

“This kid is a first rounder. In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again…..being kept out. A damn disgrace. I don’t care what anyone says!”

There had been questions surrounding Shedeur before the draft, including concerns over his tendency to take sacks and his off-field personality, but he was still expected by many to be selected in the first round.

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

” data-lazy=”https://keedag.sportskeeda.com/user-pic/1253811-1730125987-200.jpg?w=200″
alt=”John Ezekiel Hirro” height=”72″ width=”72″>

John Ezekiel Hirro is an experienced NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda, with over five years in the field as a news correspondent, sports writer, and Editor-in-Chief. His sports writing career began in high school, where he garnered numerous accolades, including being named the national sports writing champion in 2016.

He earned his journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 2024 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsitarian, the university’s official student publication, for four years—the longest in history.

A passionate basketball enthusiast, he became a fan of the OKC Thunder during the Russ-KD-Harden era. Russell Westbrook, his all-time favorite athlete, impressed him by stepping up as MVP after Kevin Durant’s departure. His current favorite players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who he believes are the future of the OKC franchise.

He excels in game analysis and rapid news story turnaround, drawing inspiration from the journalistic styles of Woj and Shams. He emphasizes thorough research to ensure accuracy in his articles. One of his most memorable moments is Russell Westbrook breaking Oscar Robertson’s record with his 42nd triple-double and securing a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Outside of writing, he enjoys listening to music and creating Spotify playlists.

Know More

Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro