There has been much controversy over the validity of Bronny James’ NBA roster spot. Many believe he is only in the league because of his father, Lebron James, using his recognizable name to his benefit. Because of this widely believed perception, Bronny has been brutally criticized. Are the critics too harsh? Should Bronny have been drafted? Let’s take a look.
Bronny James has been in the spotlight for his entire career. In fact, he was getting recruited by collegiate programs at 10 years old.
Bronny James attended high school at Sierra Canyon School. His senior year, Bronny played 27 games, averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He was considered one of the elite prospects in the country for the 2023 class. Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN ranked him as a top-20 player in his class and a consensus 4-star recruit. Additionally, Bronny was selected to play in the famous McDonald’s All-American Game and was named to the United States team for the Nike Hoop Summit. At a young age, Bronny was living up to the hype and responded well to the pressure of following in his father’s footsteps.
Towards the end of his senior year, Bronny explored his options of where to play collegiate basketball. Among his top choices were USC, Oregon and Ohio State. Many speculated he would play at Ohio State, building on his father’s Ohio-rooted legacy. However, Bronny chose to stay close to home and committed to USC. Many NBA analysts predicted Bronny would play at USC for a season and enter the NBA draft, where he would be among the top 10 draft picks.
However, everything turned for the worse in the summer before his first year at USC. Bronny collapsed at practice and suffered cardiac arrest caused by a heart defect, which delayed his USC debut by two months. Throughout the season, Bronny never seemed to get his footing, only averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in just 19.3 minutes per game.
After his season at USC, Bronny entered the transfer portal, moving away from a deep USC roster and declared for the NBA draft at the same time. Many were shocked by Bronny’s decision to enter the NBA draft. His season averages showed a poor season at USC. Additionally, many critics and fans believed he wasn’t developed enough as a player to be competitive in the NBA, being only 19 years old and playing less than a full year of collegiate basketball.
However, to others, Bronny’s declaration for the NBA draft was expected. His father made it clear that he wanted to play in the NBA with or against Bronny before he retired. At 39 years old, Lebron does not have many more seasons left until his retirement. Many speculate that Bronny’s decision to enter the draft was to ensure Lebron’s lifelong wish to play with his son comes to fruition.
Nonetheless, and to little surprise, Bronny was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round with the 55th pick. Many fans criticized Bronny, claiming that he was unfit for the NBA and that it was unfair that he took a roster spot away from a more qualified draft prospect simply because he was Lebron’s son.
In six preseason games with the Lakers, Bronny averaged just 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in merely 16.8 minutes per game. At one point in the preseason, Bronny had the lowest plus/minus (metric used to measure a player’s impact on the game by calculating the change in score when they’re on the court) of -40 in the entire league. Additionally, Bronny claimed to be a ‘3-and-D’ style player, yet his shooting has been lackluster, going 1–12 for beyond the arc.
Based on these statistics, many are quick to label Bronny as a fraud. However, are the fans truly analyzing Bronny as the 55th pick, or are they criticizing him based on his father’s statistics? We have to look at some more numbers.
In reality, Bronny won’t be as good as Lebron, a once in a lifetime superstar. In 2003, Lebron had a historic year, winning Rookie of the Year, averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, and embracing his status as face of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, looking back at the past ten 55th overall picks, they averaged 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Hence, based on numbers, Bronny is performing as expected.
Ultimately, Bronny has been on the back end of some harsh criticism. And some of it is justified. Lebron played a significant role in Bronny being drafted in the second round. Many feel it is unfair that Lebron leveraged his league influence to have his son be drafted.
However, in terms of performance, Bronny shouldn’t be criticized. He is playing how he’s supposed to. He’s playing like a rookie and a second-round pick. Fans have to wait and see if Bronny becomes a better player and prove that he is NBA-caliber.
Bronny shared the court with Lebron in the Lakers’ season opener, making them the first father-son duo in NBA history. Bronny will look to go back and forth between the Los Angeles Lakers and the South Bay Lakers
