Bronny James’ NBA journey is the most compelling story in sports.
Individuals desperately want answers to questions surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers guard's long-term future in the NBA. Luckily, multiple Insiders have weighed in on the topic and shared their honest opinions of the USC product with the public.
“For this whole thing to have even made it this far is surreal," a Western Conference executive said. "Analytically, if you just had the numbers on a page and had no name attached to it, he (James) doesn't project in any way, shape or form to be an NBA player. His measurables don't project as an NBA player. There's literally nothing about him on paper -- if no name is attached to it -- that makes this make sense."
An Eastern Conference executive echoed the same sentiment before the 2024 draft.
“If I was on the (Los Angeles) Lakers' staff, I would do anything not to be the one tasked with developing Bronny because he's not going to make tangible progress that will show up in good stat lines or anything," the executive said. "Even if you do a good job getting him better, his performance would be a disappointment to the fans. I think it'll be more of a challenge for the team that drafts him than it will be for him."
These executives aren't sold that James will amount to anything in the NBA, but they don’t speak for every insider in the NBA world.
"He's not going to embarrass your franchise ever," another executive stated. "He's going to work his (expletive) ass off. Because what LeBron James will never tolerate is any intel that his kid isn't a hard worker."
James is in an unfortunate predicament heading into his rookie season with the Lakers. While everyone isn’t counting out the 6-foot-2 guard, the consensus is he doesn’t belong in the NBA.
Instead of being patient with the No. 55 overall pick and allowing him to prove he can hang in the big leagues, many will prepare to slander him after every mistake. If he does flash some potential with the Lakers at some point during the upcoming season, his loudest naysayers will claim he’s having fluky-like performances on the hardwood.
James can’t win right now, no matter what he does, which comes with not only being the son of a future Hall of Famer but also underperforming at the collegiate level. Last season at USC, he averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 assists per contest on 36.6% shooting from the field.
Will James wind up thriving in the NBA? Who knows, but needless to say, he’ll face heavy scrutiny along the way.
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