Bronny James has been under the microscope his entire life and that attention is only increasing now that he’s playing college basketball and inching closer towards a potential professional career.
But his modest averages of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the USC Trojans have left many wondering where his chances of making the NBA currently stand.
We now have a slightly better idea on that front, thanks to numerous NBA executives who anonymously shared their thoughts with ESPN this week.
“I’ll be honest, we didn’t have huge expectations for [Bronny] heading into the season,” one scout said in the report. “I know some mocks had him as a top-20 pick, but our group didn’t view him as a player of that caliber.
“I don’t know exactly what his role is going to be, and I think it’s hard to project him in a half-court setting. He doesn’t have great separation off the bounce, he’s not a really good perimeter shooter, so it’s going to be tough to unlock some of the creation, because I don’t think teams are going to get up on him defensively.”
Another executive questioned which parts of Bronny’s game would reach an NBA standard.
“I feel like [expectations] were always overboard,” the exec told ESPN. “He’s a good player, but if his situation wasn’t what it was, I’m not sure how much attention he’d be garnering… He’s a solid player. I thought he was shooting it pretty well, especially going into the McDonald’s game last year, and he’s a good athlete, but he’s smaller [for a wing].
“… In the NBA, there aren’t a lot of guys like that who play at a high level… He’s not a bad player at all, there’s a lot of good things about him, but there are weaknesses, too, with height, stature. He can playmake, but it’s tough, I don’t know what he does at an NBA level that really moves the needle. It’s got to be the shooting ability and the defensive stuff.”
Bronny has not made any public comments or commitments regarding which year he will declare for the NBA draft.
NBA Draft Room projects him as the 71st-best prospect in the 2024 NBA draft class, while ESPN has him going 39th overall in 2025.
READ MORE: Rich Paul Addresses Bronny James NBA Draft Rumors