Perhaps the biggest storyline of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday night is the destination of Bronny James, the son of Lakers superstar LeBron James.
And there’s been a significant update provided by ESPN during the draft. James may very well have one team in mind, willing to play a wild card in the event another team tries to draft him.
“I will say right now Rich Paul is calling teams, ‘Don’t take Bronny James,'” reported Bob Myers on the air. “He’s telling them do not take him. You take him he’s going to Australia. So he has a plan and he has a place.”
How things play out, of course, will be fascinating.
No matter who selects him, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony argued James is ready for the NBA game. He put together a strong pre-draft process, and it allowed him to showcase more of his skillset.
James had an up-and-down freshman season at USC last year, missing the beginning after suffering cardiac arrest during summer workouts. In 25 games, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals. But Givony said his workouts showed his ability to be a complete prospect, and that’s why he’s jumping out.
“Bronny James showed a different side of himself in this pre-draft process, starting at the NBA Draft combine testing as one of the best athletes in the draft, then as one of the best shooters in the shooting drills,” Givony said Wednesday night. “Then, he went to the 5-on-5 section of the combine and played exceedingly well. He showed his defensive versatility, he looked unselfish, he made shots, he showed his feel for the game.
“Bronny James is every bit the NBA prospect that NBA teams want to see. He’s going to get a guaranteed contract next year, which is why he did not work out for every NBA team. I’m excited for Bronny James to show people what we saw from him in high school, why he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.”
James arrived on campus at USC as a highly touted recruit. A four-star prospect, he was the No. 25 overall prospect from the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was the only service to rank James as a five-star.
On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.
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