The L.A. Lakers’ 6-foot-2 shooting guard and the son of the franchise’s star has struggled in the NBA preseason as the No. 55 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. The question is, after the historic moment people have been anticipating for years comes, what’s next?
Twenty-year old Bronny James was destined for this moment for many years. The “moment” is becoming part of the first father-son combo to share the court together during an official NBA game.
When he was entering Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) high school in the fall of 2019 (when the world was plenty different than it is today), there was a plan hatched to land the son of L.A. Lakers superstar LeBron James in the NBA alongside dad.
Dad would be in the twilight of his career and after James finished high school, the plan was for him to enter the NBA Draft as soon as he was eligible as an American-born player: one year removed from high school.
Bronny In High School
Bronny never got to play in a CIF State championship game because after his Sierra Canyon team won a dramatic 2020 SoCal regional final game at the buzzer (on a shot by current Brooklyn Nets forward Ziarie Williams) to send them to the championship game, the next day, March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and the state championship game was canceled on March 12.
During COVID, Sierra Canyon was one of the most visible teams in the country. As some of the country was unable to play games in the 2020-21 regular season, Bronny became somewhat of an inspiration to many young kids. Bronny’s fame grew, but unfortunately, he didn’t grow much in height.
From promise to potential NBA star
During a broadcast interview with Stadium in 2019, we stated it wasn’t a matter of if, but when, Bronny played alongside dad in the NBA, as long as he grew three or four more inches to 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6. That was before his abbreviated sophomore year of high school.
Never mind that Bronny was never the 6-foot-4 that he was listed at during his lone season at USC (where he averaged 4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, and 2.1 spg), he never physically grew much from that point on. Bronny's game did progress and develop to the point where he became a legitimate D1 prospect. He averaged 8.8 ppg as a junior at Sierra Canyon in 2021-22 and 14.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.7 spg as a senior.
Bronny As A Prospect
This is where the water gets muddy. Bronny’s ranking by the well-known major recruiting networks was clearly influenced by his name and notoriety. Anyone involved in the game being honest is not going to deny that. He was ranked No. 20 by
ESPN.com
and No. 9 by On3 and it wasn’t a surprise he was chosen for the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game.
- Did many in the industry feel he was not a Top 25 prospect? Sure.
- Did some of those same evaluators feel he was a good spot-up shooter and positional defender? Yes.
But taking a deeper look reveals a different story.
He lacks the instincts of a true lead guard, and that makes him a 6-foot-2 shooting guard prospect. Bronny has good linear athleticism, but he doesn’t move laterally at an elite level and if you force him to change direction to make an offensive play in the half court, he was nowhere near the caliber of the top guards in what amounted to an average 2023 national class, much less current NBA rotation players.
From top prospect to NBA Draft contender
We rated him as a top 75-100 national prospect, which means you’re an excellent college prospect and with proper development, have a shot at a pro career. As a basketball community, however, nobody really opposed the path this plan took even though it wasn’t normal. Look at how some folks argue about gun laws in America. When the mass shootings found their way to schools and something drastic wasn’t done to stop them cold in their tracks, for many America’s gun debate ended there.
When James was selected to play in the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit, which is generally reserved for a dozen of the top U.S. born high school players in the senior class to play against a select international squad, and no power brokers in the grassroots and high school space or influential media members questioned it, the debate about Bronny’s NBA prospects was over. He was going to get drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and most likely by the L.A. Lakers.
Bronny’s Health Scare
Lost in all the hoopla surrounding the anticipated day father and son share an NBA court together is the fact Bronny had a major health episode before playing his first college game. On July 24, 2023, Bronny James went into cardiac arrest at a USC practice. After being released from the hospital on July 27, it was discovered Bronny had a congenital heart defect and needed surgery.
Now, there are HIPAA laws protecting individual’s health information and privacy laws for students, and that must be respected. However, there was never a formal press conference or any information released as to how Bronny’s cardiac arrest was expected to impact his athletic career.
- From an evaluation standpoint, we’ll never know how it affects his physical capabilities or if he recovered to perform at the level he was playing prior to the incident.
We speculate and that’s all it is, speculation. Bronny made his college debut on December 10, 2023.
The Big Moment
On October 6, 2024, father and son shared the court together in a Lakers’ preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers open the 2024-25 regular season October 22 at home vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bronny is expected to play and the moment will happen.
There will be cameras flashing, there will be fans cheering uncontrollably and there may even be some tears shed. Give LeBron James credit; his NBA longevity is nothing short of amazing and for the James family, this will be one of the prouder moments of dad’s career. How proud of a moment it is for the Lakers’ franchise and basketball in general is certainly up for debate and heavily based on their reasoning for enjoying the game.
The Future
We know Bronny hasn’t made a 3-point field goal going into the final preseason game vs. the Golden State Warriors. We know he has more turnovers than field goals so far. We know he could use playing time in the G-League. What’s even more poignant is his size compared to other NBA guards, considering he built his reputation as a legitimate prospect on the defensive side of the ball.
The average NBA player is 6-foot-6 and starting shooting guards are incredibly athletic, so Bronny has his work cut out for him. After the moment happens, then what will his fans look forward to? What will happen to his playing time on a team that will be fighting for a prime playoff spot in the tough Western Conference?
As the great, late L.A. Times columnist Jim Murray once said about the late Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, let’s root for Bronny when the cheering stops. When the cheering stops, that’s when the real game begins.
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