No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, USC freshman Bronny James is the beau of the ball.
Arriving in Chicago to take part in the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, James’ namesake has seemingly carried him this far. Yet, many successful NBA players have flown under the radar. James isn’t the usual underdog given that people have had high expectations for him since high school. However, as he’s yet to demonstrate the level of talent that his pedigree suggests, doubt has crept into assessments of his future outlook.
Perhaps it makes sense then that when asked which NBA players impact winning the way he wants to, he named three of the most underrated veterans in the league: Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, Celtics guard Derrick White, and Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell.
Bronny named Jrue Holiday, Davion Mitchell and Derrick White as players who affect winning in the way he wants to 💯 pic.twitter.com/dZlu9fwFG1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2024
Here’s more on those three players.
Bronny James Names 3 Pros He Wants to Be Like
Jrue Holiday
Holiday is a well-rounded guard with elite defense due to his strength, technique, and basketball IQ.
A two-time All-Star and five-time All-Defensive selection, the 33-year-old’s impact has been recognized by the league on multiple occasions. However, Holiday’s popularity rose among the more casual NBA fans after he helped the Milwaukee Bucks win their championship in 50 years.
With the Celtics, Holiday has sacrificed scoring opportunities for the betterment of the team. Despite averaging 19.1 points per game over the previous six seasons, he’s recognized that Boston is the deepest team he’s been on. As a result, he’s averaging 12.5 points per game this season.
Derrick White
Similar to Holiday, White is an all-around guard.
However, he’s more of a jack of all trades than Holiday. He isn’t as aggressive a scorer, as efficient a 3-point shooter, or as much of an event creator on defense. Nonetheless, he makes a number of timely, heads-up plays at both ends of the floor, leading to him having the second-highest on-court plus-minus (+12.4) among their rotation players.
This season, there were calls for White to be named an All-Star for the first time in his career. Although he never got the nod, it speaks to his growing popularity. His impact is so great that he’s transcended the traditional way of thinking about what an All-Star is.
Davion Mitchell
Mitchell is the least versatile of the three, as he’s primarily a defensive specialist. With outstanding footwork and anticipation, would-be scorers and ball-handlers find it hard to get past him.
However, Mitchell’s determination to improve has been another card. To that point, after shooting just 31.6 percent from 3 as a rookie in 2021-22, he knocked down a career-high 36.1 percent of his 3s in 2023-24.
That said, he averaged career-highs of 11.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 0.7 steals per game as a rookie. So, when Mitchell saw increased playing time, his subsequent production was par for the course. When averaging 20-29 minutes per game last season, Mitchell averaged 9.7 points per game on 47.0 percent shooting from the field and 41.5 percent shooting from 3.
