Never has a 55th overall NBA Draft selection received as much attention as LeBron James Jr., better known as Bronny.
As the firstborn son of LeBron James, Bronny is no stranger to the limelight. He made a name for himself growing up with his basketball mixtapes on YouTube garnering millions of views, and he even signed to FaZe Clan, an esports organization, in 2020 as a content creator.
His talent was evident as he continued to play in high school.After averaging 13.8 PPG and nearly two steals a game during his senior year at Sierra Canyon School, Bronny was ranked the 28th best prospect in 2023 rankings by 24/7 Sports. He committed to play college basketball at the University of Southern California.
During a preseason practice in July 2023, Bronny collapsed when a congenital heart defect caused him to go into cardiac arrest. This event left him hospitalized for multiple days, and his basketball future was suspended indefinitely. Bronny was sidelined for five months, but he was miraculously able to make his college debut in December of the same year. On the court, however, he did not live up to the five-star hype from his high school days, averaging 5/3/2 on inefficient shooting.
Considering Bronny’s situation — coming back from open-heart surgery and joining the team in the middle of the season — many experts believed that he would and should stay in college. He did not.
To the surprise of many, Bronny entered the 2024 NBA Draft. He was touted as an athletic guard with minimal offense game but above average perimeter defense who could potentially develop into a solid “Three-and-D” role-player. The fit to play with his father was obvious. LeBron has long claimed he wanted to continue playing until his son made it to the league.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th pick, and the hate came right away. Nepotism accusations came in, further fueled by Bronny’s poor performance during the NBA Summer League and Preseason. No stranger to hate, Bronny handled the situation well.
“I’ve already seen it on social media and the internet and stuff, talking about that I might not deserve an opportunity,” Bronny said. “But I’ve been dealing with stuff like this my whole life, so it’s nothing different. But it’s more amplified, for sure. But I’ll get through it.”
There may be validity to claims that Bronny’s high school rankings were inflated due to his name, but it is important to understand that the NBA is a league that is not based entirely in college, preseason, or early career production. There are some players like LeBron James who make a major contribution right away, but there are also a ton of late bloomers in the league due to the incredibly young age of rookies. Former NBA All-Stars Fred VanFleet and Dennis Rodman each averaged under three points per game in their rookie seasons and went on to have incredibly successful careers. That is not to say that Bronny will be an all-star in the future, but more so to say that Bronny’s career is not defined as of now — he has plenty of time and talent to improve. It is important to remember that he is only 20.
Pre-NBA production is also something that is not taken very seriously. For example, Reed Shephard was taken third overall in this past year’s draft when he came off the bench at Kentucky, while former Player of the Year Zach Edey was selected ninth overall. NBA teams have incredibly complex statistics used for scouting, and Bronny showed great signs in his defensive metrics in college, which is one of the reasons that the Lakers selected him. Another important note is that 55th overall picks historically are lucky to be role players and often never even step foot onto an NBA court.
No one is immune to criticism, and Bronny is by no means a good NBA player right now. Still, it is important to look at the bigger picture of his career.
“Just imagine if you … were born into a situation where your dad was super famous, super wealthy, and you, the kid, still had the drive to want to be able to accomplish things for yourself,” LeBron said. “I personally don’t know if I would’ve. … People don’t understand how hard that is and the commitment for him to be coming out of heart surgery less than a year ago, for him to be able to be in the NBA, the kid, he’s special.”
It is apparent how proud LeBron is of his son. Bronny knows that hate will come his way; even if he ends up becoming a high-end role player, he will never be his dad.
At the end of the day, Bronny has the respect of his coaches and his teammates.
“Rob [Pelinka] and I did not give Bronny anything; Bronny has earned this,” Lakers Head Coach JJ Reddick said. “Bronny has earned this through hard work.”
