Bronny James declared for the 2024 NBA Draft and entered the transfer portal Friday.
The decision has his spotlight shining even brighter than usual as the basketball world begins to wonder if LeBron's eldest son will be drafted this year.
Back in February, LeBron took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to respond to ESPN's future NBA mock draft that had Bronny getting selected in 2025, not 2024.
"Can y'all please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball," LeBron wrote in a post that was later deleted.
LeBron has not been shy about his desire to stick around the NBA long enough to play with his son. Still performing at an All-Star level at age 39, LeBron's time isn't running out yet, but his contract status — he can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason by turning down his player option for 2024-25 — could give him the flexibility to join forces with Bronny if his son does turn pro.
The only problem is Bronny's freshman season at USC didn't give him a clear runway to take the one-and-done route.
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Bronny James stats
James' first collegiate season was been anything but traditional. The 19-year-old suffered cardiac arrest during a workout over the summer, putting his freshman season on hold for four months. Upon his return, James was still under a minutes restriction for his first four games.
Even after James got back into form, it was a tumultuous season for the freshman and USC. The Trojans were wildly disappointing with a 15-18 overall record, going 8-12 to finish ninth in the Pac-12.
James didn't have the opportunities that he might have hoped to showcase his skills if he had plans of being a one-and-done prospect. For the majority of the year, he has come off the bench behind super senior guard Boogie Ellis and freshman guard Isaiah Collier, who was the No. 1 player in the high school class of 2023.
Both Ellis and Collier missed games due to injury, but James didn't capitalize on his chance to shine in a bigger role. His lack of assertiveness in those moments was something I wrote about after watching his final high school game at Sierra Canyon last year.
As a whole, it felt like James' game had been put into a box because of the talent in front of him. He was reduced to a 3-and-D-type player who didn't have much freedom to create as a ball-handler. He didn't shoot the ball well and didn't display shot-creation skills, falling into the background more often than not. His playing time was inconsistent and it felt like he never truly got into a rhythm this past season.
James only scored double figures three times in 25 appearances. He has had four games with at least five assists and five games with multiple steals. He only knocked down multiple 3-pointers in three games but never hit more than two triples in a game.
Here are his full stats on the season:
| 2023-24 | |
| GP | 25 (6 GS) |
| MP | 19.3 |
| FG% | 36.6 |
| 3P% | 26.7 |
| FT% | 67.6 |
| PPG | 4.8 |
| RPG | 2.8 |
| APG | 2.1 |
| SPG | 0.8 |
| BPG | 0.2 |
Bronny James NBA Draft projection
- 2024 NBA Draft: Second-round pick
- 2025 NBA Draft: First-round pick
Even though Bronny only averaged 4.8 points per game and didn't show one-and-done prowess, it wouldn't shock me if a team was willing to take a second-round flier on him if he does remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.
It goes beyond increasing a team's chance of courting LeBron in potential free agency (but that, of course, also plays a factor). In a draft class that lacks thorough talent, why wouldn't a team take a chance on the heir of an all-time great and hope they can unleash his full potential after a bizarre lone college season?
DECOURCY: LeBron would do Bronny a favor by allowing him to develop as an NBA prospect in due time
On the flip side, Bronny sticking around for his sophomore year is probably the more logical option. Entering the transfer portal allows the 19-year-old to re-open his recruiting, looking for the best possible head coaching and roster fit to maximize his potential.
Bronny would be able to apply the feedback he receives from NBA scouts in the pre-draft process and apply that to a full offseason of training after having his preseason cut short by a heart issue a year ago.
