Bronny James is sure to be a hot prospect and will end up on a lot of team’s draft boards for the 2024 NBA draft. Before he takes the next step though, he will have to prove himself on the college level. Many are convinced he will carry the legacy of his father LeBron James but there are also plenty of naysayers.
Kenny Smith is one of those naysayers.The two-time NBA champ recently appeared on “Big Boy TV” and shared his doubts about Bronny’s chances of making it to the NBA.
Not Sold
Bronny announced his commitment to USC in early May, and many have speculated that he will only be there for one year. LeBron has declared he wants to play with Bronny at the next level and become the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
Smith believes that Bronny’s path to the NBA is not as easy as it seems. The topic of LeBron hinting at retirement after the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals was brought up and the conversation shifted to him waiting on Bronny to make the NBA.
“His son is at USC [speaking of LeBron] and he has to go through a process to possibly get into the NBA that is very hard to get to and people forget. Sevenrt-five years of basketball, Big, there’s only been 5,100 players that touch a floor!” Smith said on the podcast. “So to be waiting on your son to be one of those 5,100, that doesn’t even make sense either. Like, he’s not waiting on his son. He’s hopefully wishing his son will make it.”
Draft Potential
Despite what Smith says, he is still not an NBA owner or general manager. He won’t be making any personnel decisions for a team and is only giving his opinion.
According to Yahoo Sports, Bronny was listed as the 24th overall prospect in their way-too-early 2024 NBA mock draft. He was listed as a second round prospect in the NBA Draft.net 2024 mock draft.
He has yet to play a second on the college level but showed rapid improvement each year while in high school. According to 247 sports, he was ranked as the 27th overall high school prospect. He was a McDonald’s All-American and was named to the Nike Hoop Summit roster. His rapid improvement is why scouts believe he will be drafted in 2024 if he decides to come out but how much he improves will determine where he will be drafted.
Bronny will be playing alongside No. 1 overall 2024 prospect Isaiah Collier. Both freshmen play the guard position, but Bronny is viewed more as a combo guard who can play on and off the ball. The two players will surely challenge each other in practice daily and will have other highly competitive teammates around them.
Four-star power forward Brandon Gardner, Bronny’s former Sierra Canyon teammate Kijani Wright, and transfer D.J. Rodman, son of Dennis Rodman, will all be on the roster for the Trojans next season as well.
