The eldest son of the greatest player of our generation LeBron James, Bronny James has had the spotlight on him since he picked up a basketball. This spotlight’s never been brighter than when James became a blue-chip recruit and chose to attend USC for this season.
Many people immediately wanted to see just how good the legend’s son would be. Can he be a one-and-done NBA prospect and enter the league his dad still dominates at age 39? We know this type of pedigree, however, always comes with critics and other questions.
Is he really that good, or is the hype just because of his last name?
How Good Is Bronny James? Is He A Legit NBA Prospect?
Rough Start
As with any story, the path hasn’t been as linear and smooth as one would want. In late July during a team practice, James suffered cardiac arrest due to a congenital heart defect. Of course, this shook up not only the James family but the sports world in general. It was a relief to hear afterward that the condition was treatable, and James could expect a full recovery.
Even still, James would go on to miss the first eight games of the season. After close monitoring though, James is firmly back on the court with six games under his belt entering conference play. Through his first four games, James averaged a meager 5.0 points, although understandably gaining his footing while playing on a minutes restriction. In his last two games, however, the minutes restriction has slowly faded, and James looks much more comfortable on the court. In turn, he’s had his best performances scoring 15 and 10 points against Oregon State and University of California respectively.
Strengths and Weaknesses
So, who is James as a player? There’s a reason he was a blue-chip recruit coming out of high school. Him being a possible NBA prospect hasn’t simply come from thin air. James has shown early on that he can be a knockdown perimeter shooter and has good to great athleticism. He also competes enthusiastically on the defensive end of the floor and shines best as a team defender. What really shines in James’ play though is his high basketball IQ and feel for the game. He’s a ‘makes the right play’ type of player, and this is certainly James’ most similar attribute to his dad. This high basketball acumen really ties his game together on both ends of the floor.
Now obviously James isn’t a perfect NBA prospect, and there’s a reason scouts are trying to figure out if he’s the real deal. From a scouting perspective, most would say James has two major concerns at the moment.
The first has to do with his size relative to position. While his father is what an NBA scout would build in a lab if given the opportunity, Bronny is an average six-foot-three and 210 pounds. If James were a point guard, this size would be perfectly acceptable. However, at almost every stage of his career, he’s primarily been more of an off-ball wing rather than a true point or combo-guard. If he were to play on the wing at the next level, he would definitely be considered undersized. This isn’t to say that James can’t run the point position though, especially as he continues to develop. Currently, he shares the court at USC with point guard Isaiah Collier, another NBA prospect who projects as a top 10 pick.
Secondarily, scouts will want to answer another question when evaluating James. What elite trait does he possess? James is already pretty good at every aspect of the game, but he isn’t lightyears above at any one thing. His closest elite trait would be his basketball IQ, but again, not being at the point guard position limits this stock. This issue may not be as detrimental to his stock however on draft night. The 2024 draft class isn’t projected to be a strong one, and role players will be coveted. Teams may buy into James’ floor as an all-around guard and be willing to bet on certain traits eventually becoming elite.
Conclusion
To sum it up, there’s a lot to like in James’ game from a pure basketball perspective. He’s certainly a promising Division One talent regardless of who his father is. Is there a possibility teams may draft James higher than expected in order to entice his father to their team? There certainly could be, but that’s the privilege the James’ name has earned.
From a strictly scouting perspective though, James’ main focus will be to show that he can be a point or combo-guard at the next level. Shooting the 3-ball at a high percentage will also be extremely important for his current role-player type projection. As he plays more games, everyone will get a better feel for his true skill set. The percentages will also be able to paint a better picture for fans and scouts alike.
In all honesty, players in situations like James are often perfect sophomore season breakout candidates. He’s a solid NBA prospect currently, but he just hasn’t had the opportunity or amount of games to really let his draft stock heat up. Returning could allow him to possibly take over at point guard and showcase to NBA teams what he can do with increased usage. Of course, this can all change instantly though as that’s what makes draft stock and draft projections so fun. Bronny can easily heat up throughout conference play as he’s getting comfortable and put the world on notice.
Regardless of James’ choice or even who his father is though, it’s reasonable to say that his basketball future is bright.
