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Kids of professional athletes?

HawkOptimist

HawkOptimist

HR Heisman
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Jan 5, 2006
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The Bronny James recruitment thread got me thinking. How many star athletes in the pros have kids of their own who have had similar success? Doesn’t seem like many.

Like, I remember seeing Michael Jordan’s kids on TV at one of his games back in the 90s and thinking, “Those guys are probably gonna be awesome too.” Never happened.

Ones that come to mind right away for me are Ken Griffey Jr (Ken Sr), the Manning brothers (Archie), Vlad Guerrero Jr (Vlad Sr).

Who else?
 
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His dad was no slouch, but this guy is definitely the better player.

kansas-city-chiefs-v-san-francisco-49ers.jpg
 
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HawkOptimist said:
The Bronny James recruitment thread got me thinking. How many star athletes in the pros have kids of their own who have had similar success? Doesn’t seem like many.

Like, I remember seeing Michael Jordan’s kids on TV at one of his games back in the 90s and thinking, “Those guys are probably gonna be awesome too.” Never happened.

Ones that come to mind right away for me are Ken Griffey Jr (Ken Sr), the Manning brothers (Archie), Vlad Guerrero Jr (Vlad Sr).

Who else?
Click to expand...
Bobby and Barry Bonds
 
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There are a bunch in baseball right now who are young and very promising and may live up:

Cavan Biggio
Bo Bichette
Vlad Guerrero Jr
Fernando Tatis Jr
Cody Bellinger
Kody Clemens
CJ Cron
Ke’bryan Hayes
Bobby Witt Jr

That said, not all of their dads were superstars (though some were, obviously). There are more guys in the bigs that are sons of former players, but sometimes both were equally mediocre or the kid is pretty obviously not going to live up.
 
Larry Nance has a son on the Pelicans, and another on North Carolina (transferred from Northwestern). They're not as good as their dad, but Larry Nance Jr certainly has his dad's jumping ability, that's for sure.
 
Grandpa Ray Boone and his son Bob were pretty good, as were grandsons Aaron and Bret Boone. Ken Norton Sr and Ken Norton Jr come to mind, as does Joe Frazier and Marvis (although he ran into trouble vs Holmes and Tyson). Many people forget about Jellybean Bryant, but Kobe was one of the best ever.
 
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I was watching the Australian Open (that's tennis) and Sebastian Korda was playing.

Sebastian is the son of Petr Korda. Petr Korda won the Australian Open won year, and a few other titles, and was ranked as high as #2.

Petr has two daughters and a son. The son, Sebastian, is ranked around #30 in Tennis. The two daughters are/were both on the LPGA tour. The younger daughter, Nelly, has been ranked as high as #1.

And because rules, this is Nelly Korda:

HnLGFyZ4jMg-Q9nqsp5DDmwfT1SSd3QFxZxPnNKG4PU.jpg
 
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SSG T said:
I'd argue that both of Dell Curry's sons are better basketball players than he was.
Click to expand...

Similarly, Mychal Thompson was the top pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, but is probably not as good as Klay. Mychal Jr also played in the NBA for a short time, and the youngest brother plays in MLB.
 
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You seem to get a lot of players that had a father that had some significant level of athletic achievement, but wasn't a star or a pro necessarily. Think Keegan Murray and Kenyon.
 
HawkOptimist said:
The Bronny James recruitment thread got me thinking. How many star athletes in the pros have kids of their own who have had similar success? Doesn’t seem like many.

Like, I remember seeing Michael Jordan’s kids on TV at one of his games back in the 90s and thinking, “Those guys are probably gonna be awesome too.” Never happened.

Ones that come to mind right away for me are Ken Griffey Jr (Ken Sr), the Manning brothers (Archie), Vlad Guerrero Jr (Vlad Sr).

Who else?
Click to expand...
Jabari Smith Jr. told Lebron "my dad played against you". Kinda funny. I see i already got beat to this one.
 
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Most of the ones I initially thought of have been mentioned.

Not sure how good he was, but I believe Joey and Nick Bosa's dad played in the NFL for a few years.
 
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The daughter of former Yellowjacket and NBA'er Matt Harpring, goes to the same high school as my son (same grade as well). I think her mom was a college swimmer or volleyball player, so the genetics are insane.

She's ridiculously good for a freshman....quite a few college offer already. She totally carries the team. She has a brother who's a junior at the same school, and is pretty darn good, but she's the one who inherited the truly freak genes. She'll be an impact player wherever she goes to college....and it wouldn't surprise me if she played pro ball. Unfortunately, as a female basketball player she's unlikely to be making millions.
 
cfbfan23 said:
The daughter of former Yellowjacket and NBA'er Matt Harpring, goes to the same high school as my son (same grade as well). I think her mom was a college swimmer or volleyball player, so the genetics are insane.

She's ridiculously good for a freshman....quite a few college offer already. She totally carries the team. She has a brother who's a junior at the same school, and is pretty darn good, but she's the one who inherited the truly freak genes. She'll be an impact player wherever she goes to college....and it wouldn't surprise me if she played pro ball. Unfortunately, as a female basketball player she's unlikely to be making millions.
Click to expand...
That reminds me of what I have read about Chad Greenway's daughter. I believe she was starting for her varsity team in 8th grade.
 
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Formerly Rockymtnole said:
Dale Earnhardt/Jr.
Click to expand...

If you're counting NASCAR, the Petty family certainly should be mentioned. Lee was one of the first superstars of racing, Richard was one of the top few drivers ever, Kyle was quite successful.

Lee hated to lose:

1959 Lakewood 500[edit]​

During a stock car race at Lakewood in Atlanta, Georgia, Petty's son Richard raced against Lee, a teammate to his father on Petty Enterprises. After a side-by-side duel with his father, Richard passed Lee with less than 10 laps to go and went on to win the race. It was one of Richard's first races and he became a first-time Cup series winner during his rookie year. Hours after the race was over, officials changed the official results after a protest was filed by Lee. Lee protested that Richard was one lap down and was credited with an extra lap. Richard was demoted to third and Lee was declared the race winner. In the days that followed, Lee was quoted as saying in a newspaper, "I would have protested my mother if I needed to."
 
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Kevin Barrett- Rugby
He had a cup of coffee in Super 14 rugby.
Four of his sons played/play pro rugby with Scott, Beauden, and Jordie all currently All Blacks.
 
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