Bronny James Puts USC in the Spotlight

Allen Wallace

1 year ago

LeBron James’ son Bronny is about to become the most polarizing NBA Draft prospect ever

With the 2023 NBA Draft over, Bronny James is now on the clock.
How high he should be drafted is going to be hotly debated as teams weigh his talent and name.
Bronny is not the best talent in the draft, but he is improving and comes with some other perks.

Cork Gaines (Insider) — Let the debate begin: How high will Bronny James go in the NBA Draft?

The 2023 NBA Draft is barely a week old. Outside the curiosity over whether the Charlotte Hornets would take Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson with the second pick (they took Miller), there was little debate among the more prominent names available.

That will change as we start the 12-month march to the 2024 NBA Draft, which is expected to include one of the biggest names ever: LeBron James Jr., better known as Bronny.

Unlike this year’s No. 1 pick, 7-foot-5 French prospect Victor Wembanyama who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs, Bronny James is not considered a generational talent like his father was coming out of high school. Instead, he is viewed as a defensive specialist with good upside potential who might also come with some intriguing perks.

Bronny, 18, is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound point guard who recently completed his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School, just outside of Los Angeles, and is ranked No. 20 in ESPN’s Class of 2023.

The younger James recently committed to play college basketball near home at USC, but that is only expected to last a year before he jumps to the NBA.

How good is Bronny?

The consensus of NBA experts, college coaches, and talent evaluators seems to be that Bronny is already an elite defender who shows flashes of brilliance on the offensive end but is too inconsistent to be a team’s primary scoring threat. While several have noted that he might not be done growing, his NBA future at this point is probably as a role player or a reserve, one who specializes on the defensive end and supplements at the other end.

That doesn’t sound like a franchise-leading player NBA teams would hope to get near the top of the NBA Draft. However, that is also not the entire story.

In one ESPN mock draft, Jonathan Givony raised eyebrows by predicting Bronny would land at No. 10 in the 2024 NBA Draft. Givony says the overall draft class is considered “weak,” and others have noted that James showed continued improvement his senior season that other prospects did not.

“James has earned his spot in lottery conversations with the significant jump he has made … developing into arguably the best perimeter defender in his high school class while making strides in his perimeter shooting and playmaking ability,” Givony wrote. “James has grown, filled out his frame, found another gear with his explosiveness, and become an absolute terror off the ball defensively thanks to his outstanding intensity and feel for the game.”

And then there are the other intangibles

Bronny brings more to the table than just his emerging talent. Most notably, there is his dad.

Of all the advantages Bronny might have over other prospects, the biggest is that he can play one-on-one against one of the best basketball players ever and do it in his own driveway.

That influence is already rubbing off on Bronny as many scouts have already noted his “high basketball IQ,” something LeBron is well known for, and his emerging leadership skills.

LeBron also recently reiterated his hopes of playing in the NBA at the same time as his son, something that could happen as soon as next season. That has also opened the door to speculation that LeBron would leave the Los Angeles Lakers next year and join whichever team drafts his son.

That speculation was only enhanced this week thanks to an Instagram post from LeBron in which he commented on the possibility of the Atlanta Hawks selecting Bronny in the draft.

“Welllll ATL shawty the #JamesGang will be pulling up!” James wrote.

So, how high will Bronny James go in the NBA Draft? Some of that will be determined by how well he performs this fall at USC and whether he continues to grow.

But even beyond that, you can bet shows, columns, and podcasts will spend a lot of time between now and then debating just how high he should go.

yahoo.com

__________

TrojanDailyBlog members — We always encourage you to add information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDB which don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.

LeBron James’ son Bronny is about to become the most polarizing NBA Draft prospect ever

With the 2023 NBA Draft over, Bronny James is now on the clock.

How high he should be drafted is going to be hotly debated as teams weigh his talent and name.

Bronny is not the best talent in the draft, but he is improving and comes with some other perks.

Cork Gaines (Insider) — Let the debate begin: How high will Bronny James go in the NBA Draft?

The 2023 NBA Draft is barely a week old. Outside the curiosity over whether the Charlotte Hornets would take Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson with the second pick (they took Miller), there was little debate among the more prominent names available.

That will change as we start the 12-month march to the 2024 NBA Draft, which is expected to include one of the biggest names ever: LeBron James Jr., better known as Bronny.

Bronny, 18, is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound point guard who recently completed his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School, just outside of Los Angeles, and is ranked No. 20 in ESPN’s Class of 2023.

The younger James recently committed to play college basketball near home at USC, but that is only expected to last a year before he jumps to the NBA.

How good is Bronny?

That doesn’t sound like a franchise-leading player NBA teams would hope to get near the top of the NBA Draft. However, that is also not the entire story.

In one ESPN mock draft, Jonathan Givony raised eyebrows by predicting Bronny would land at No. 10 in the 2024 NBA Draft. Givony says the overall draft class is considered “weak,” and others have noted that James showed continued improvement his senior season that other prospects did not.

And then there are the other intangibles

Bronny brings more to the table than just his emerging talent. Most notably, there is his dad.

Of all the advantages Bronny might have over other prospects, the biggest is that he can play one-on-one against one of the best basketball players ever and do it in his own driveway.

That influence is already rubbing off on Bronny as many scouts have already noted his “high basketball IQ,” something LeBron is well known for, and his emerging leadership skills.

LeBron also recently reiterated his hopes of playing in the NBA at the same time as his son, something that could happen as soon as next season. That has also opened the door to speculation that LeBron would leave the Los Angeles Lakers next year and join whichever team drafts his son.

That speculation was only enhanced this week thanks to an Instagram post from LeBron in which he commented on the possibility of the Atlanta Hawks selecting Bronny in the draft.

“Welllll ATL shawty the #JamesGang will be pulling up!” James wrote.

So, how high will Bronny James go in the NBA Draft? Some of that will be determined by how well he performs this fall at USC and whether he continues to grow.

But even beyond that, you can bet shows, columns, and podcasts will spend a lot of time between now and then debating just how high he should go.

yahoo.com

TrojanDailyBlog members — We always encourage you to add information, insight, divergent opinions, or new topics to the TDB which don’t necessarily pertain to any particular moderator post or member comment.