It might seem too early to be thinking about the 2024 NBA draft, but when one considers the fact that Bronny James is the son of the NBA all-time scoring leader, LeBron James, the anticipation is completely understandable.
Bronny James, aka LeBron James Jr., is an 18-year-old from Chatsworth, Calif. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound point guard recently completed his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School, just outside of Los Angeles. He is ranked No. 20 in ESPN’s Class of 2023.
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.”
ESPN has Bronny mocked to the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 17 pick in the 2024 draft. After the Worldwide Leader shared the mock draft to its Instagram story, LeBron jumped in.
“Wellllll ATL shawty the #JamesGang will be pulling up,” LeBron posted with crying laughing emojis.
Bronny James will be a force to be reckoned with alongside USC backcourt mates such as top prospect Isaiah Collier and veteran scorer Boogie Ellis.
Bronny’s 3-point shooting, on-ball defense and playmaking skills have come along well. His ability to drive the ball is also notable. Those traits could potentially make him a lottery pick in 2024 or 2025, but that is not the consensus of evaluators. He still has room for improvement with Andy Enfield in the Trojan program.
Bronny averaged 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Sierra Canyon last season.
One comparison I highly enjoyed and agree with is from Gilbert Arenas, who talked about Bronny in an interview with Dan Patrick.
“He reminds me more of an athletic Jrue Holiday. Very smart, he’s a very smart kid. His downfall, and it’s a positive for a coach, he’s very unselfish, he’s not the type that would try to go out there and score 40. At his height, he can be a 19, 7 and 7 type of player. He’s Jrue Holiday, lockdown defender, he’ll make big plays when he needs to, he’s going to be the perfect second option,” Arenas said.
We’ll have to wait to see what happens with Bronny James, but the Galen Center will be rocking in USC home games throughout the 2023-24 season.
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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire
