Bronny James went to Chicago and the NBA Draft Combine this week trying to carve out his own legacy outside the enormous shadow of his father, LeBron.
That’s not easy — LeBron’s shadow is massive. Combine that with LeBron’s past statements about wanting to play with his son (even if he moderated them this season, putting his son first) and the fact LeBron can be a free agent this summer, and some media and fans want to connect the dots.
Stop. There are no dots to connect. Drafting Bronny is not a quid-pro-quo path to getting LeBron to follow. The latest to echo this is Shams Charania of The Athletic.
What are the chances LeBron goes to whatever team Bronny is drafted to??? @ShamsCharania chimes in 🔊@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/xvjRT9zJWF
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 17, 2024
How Bronny did in Chicago and how much he helped his cause — or didn’t — depends upon who you speak to. NBC Sports spoke to multiple people who watched Bronny in Chicago and the messages were mixed.
There were positives, such as the 6'7" wingspan and the 40.5-inch vertical leap. He has an NBA build. He shot well in the shooting drill (19-of-25 from 3), but that did not translate to the scrimmages, where he struggled from the floor. What happened in those scrimmages did not help Bronny, one person from a team NBC Sports spoke with talked about Bronny’s lack of ability to go left, and questioned if he could come in and run an offense as a point guard off the bench. He can defend, but his offensive game needs a lot of work.
Bronny is a prospect in the truest sense. That doesn’t mean teams will not draft him — the Lakers reportedly are interested, and the Jazz reportedly want to speak with him as well — but if selected, he will likely spend a lot of time in the G-League working on his game to get to the next level. All reports are that Bronny comes at this with a great work ethic and no ego, he just wants to improve.
If a team sees him as a legit prospect, draft him.
Just don’t expect his father to follow.
