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LeBron James shared his thoughts on talks about his son Bronny preparing for the NBA, writing on social media Monday, “Could you please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball?”
In since-deleted posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, LeBron wrote in response to a post that cited a report that ESPN removed Bronny from its 2024 NBA mock draft and instead projected him to be selected in the 2025 draft.
“Work and results will ultimately speak no matter what he decides to do,” LeBron posted on X. “If you don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, it just WORKS! Earned not given!”
“And to all the other kids out there striving to be great, just keep your head down, blinders on and keep working,” LeBron’s post continued. “These mock drafts don’t matter in the slightest! I promise you! Only WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk about REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE!”
The Athletic previously reported that in an attempt to secure LeBron’s services for the immediate future, the Los Angeles Lakers are “willing to explore the notion of adding Bronny James next season.” LeBron has repeatedly expressed his desire to play with his son before his Hall of Fame career ends.
Bronny, 19, is a freshman at USC, where he is averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 19 games this season. He has started six games for the Trojans (11-16 overall, 5-11 in the Pac-12), who are second-to-last in the conference.
Bronny, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard, returned to the court after suffering cardiac arrest last summer, when he collapsed during a team practice in July, likely due to a congenital heart defect, according to a spokesperson for the James family.
The AthleticSam Vecenie does not include Bronny in his 2024 NBA Mock Draft.
Is Bronny a legitimate NBA Draft prospect?
Going forward, that potential certainly exists. Bronny’s combination of athleticism, length, and defensive intensity is a legitimate weapon on the perimeter. He has a chance to become an absolutely fantastic perimeter defender in the future.
On top of that, he showed real improvement as a perimeter shooter last year and seems confident going up against USC right now. He’s only hitting 27 percent of them, which is a problem. But I think his true shooting talent is probably a little better than that.
But right now, I don’t see Bronny as a draftable prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft based on the merits of his own game. He is an undersized point guard who doesn’t have much skill with the ball in his hands at the moment. I’m a little skeptical of his 6-foot-4 listing at USC unless he’s grown since I saw him at Hoop Summit in April 2023.
He looked more in the 6-foot-2 ballpark there, making him more of a point guard’s size. And throughout this season, he’s really struggled to get any kind of consistent touches on the ball. He has made just 11 half-court shots in 19 games this year, according to Synergy.
Only six of those shots have been created by him off the dribble, and he has only made two of those shots. He’s not overly shifty and doesn’t have tight enough control to realistically collapse defenses and create chances. Even NBA 3 and D players that size should be able to do that.
In my opinion, the best course of action for Bronny would be to stay at USC or transfer to a different school depending on his preferences, and take a similar path to what Devin Carter has at Providence. Another son of an NBA player, in this case former backup point guard Anthony Carter, Devin began his career at South Carolina and was a useful defensive end who took advantage of what the opponent gave him on offense.
Last season he moved into a more supporting role, averaging over 13 points per game as a two-guard and continuing to play elite-level defense while processing the game at a high level. Then this year, Devin blossomed and became one of the best players in college basketball. He is averaging 19 points, eight rebounds and 3.6 assists. He’s hitting 3-pointers at almost 40 percent speed. He’s tough and energetic, and will likely be a first-round pick this year.
However, based on the merits of his own game, it would be too difficult for scouts to take the gamble of that improvement, given that they would have to develop Bronny for several years before he was ready to play. in the NBA, and even then there would be no guarantee it would work. — Sam Vecenie, NBA draft writer
Why Bronny James has never been a first-round pick in 2024 mock drafts in The Athletic?
The evaluation of his previous game is the reason. The flaws in Bronny’s game that he has shown this year have always been pretty evident. Honestly, I thought he would have a little more impact offensively than he has been this year, but the cardiac arrest he experienced this summer undeniably put him behind the eight ball from a basketball perspective. He deserves a lot of grace for that.
That said, while some NBA evaluators believed Bronny had a chance to be a one-and-done player this season, overall the NBA scouting community that works for teams didn’t have that kind of grade on him entering the season. anus. .
In general, teams don’t necessarily make ranked draft boards at the start of a season, but they do have baseline ratings of players to prioritize who they need to travel to see early in the year. Most NBA team sources who had evaluated James before this season saw him more along the lines of a multi-year college player with intriguing upside due to his athleticism and shooting ability. — vecenie
Should he enter the draft even if he’s not a real prospect in his own right at this point?
That’s a family decision for Bronny, LeBron, his mother Savannah and the people at Klutch Sports to decide. If it’s important to them that Bronny plays with LeBron on an NBA court, LeBron has enough influence throughout the league to get a team to draft Bronny regardless of his play.
As The Athletic As recently reported, the Lakers are willing to explore this notion. If that matters more to the family than Bronny’s overall development as a player, then I understand that decision.
But I’m skeptical that Bronny can find the immediate, necessary ball reps he needs to reach his ceiling and improve his weaknesses at the pro level next season. It would be easier for him to find a situation that better supports his development at the university level. — vecenie
Required reading
(Photo: Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)