IT'S LIKELY: Bronny James is 18 and short (about 6'1/2" barefoot) so his size+skills won't make him a real nba player

[Pelly24]

Bryce will be the real prize. He’s going to be a lot taller than Bronny.

This narrative has picked up a lot of steam, but honestly I'm not even sure Bryce has ever been an above average player at any level. Really pretty unremarkable athletic ability as he seems to lack quick-twitch explosiveness. Bryce looks skilled, but doesn't really have a guard's handle. Has a smooth jumper and seems to have a solid IQ, I think he's still growing. Looks about 6'4" maybe now. But who knows? Everyone thought bronny was still growing, but he's been the same height since middle of freshman year. Even if Bryce does get to 6'7" and is a really pretty skilled player and has decent athleticism, that's not necessarily an NBA player. Before anyone ever really begins being included in NBA convos, they should at least be dominant in high school, or just have a lot of upside with a rare build/skillset. There are a lot of fairly skilled 6'6" guys but they won't make the NBA. Bronny is at least a top 100 player on in his class, and I'm probably being conservative. He held his own pretty easily at NBPA camp, played well at Peach Jam, has been a better player on SC the last three years. There's a lot that goes into even being a legit 3-star prospect, let alone an NBA player.

[yoyoboy]

Bryce will be the real prize. He’s going to be a lot taller than Bronny.

This narrative has picked up a lot of steam, but honestly I'm not even sure Bryce has ever been an above average player at any level. Really pretty unremarkable athletic ability as he seems to lack quick-twitch explosiveness. Bryce looks skilled, but doesn't really have a guard's handle. Has a smooth jumper and seems to have a solid IQ, I think he's still growing. Looks about 6'4" maybe now. But who knows? Everyone thought bronny was still growing, but he's been the same height since middle of freshman year. Even if Bryce does get to 6'7" and is a really pretty skilled player and has decent athleticism, that's not necessarily an NBA player. Before anyone ever really begins being included in NBA convos, they should at least be dominant in high school, or just have a lot of upside with a rare build/skillset. There are a lot of fairly skilled 6'6" guys but they won't make the NBA. Bronny is at least a top 100 player on in his class, and I'm probably being conservative. He held his own pretty easily at NBPA camp, played well at Peach Jam, has been a better player on SC the last three years. There's a lot that goes into even being a legit 3-star prospect, let alone an NBA player.

Bryce is already taller than LeBron was at the same age if I’m not mistaken. He’s around 6’6 in shoes now as a freshman. I agree his skill isn’t too impressive at that point, but I think just the fact that he’ll likely be very big (6’8+ probably) gives him a much better chance at being a successful NBA player than Bronny. And you’re right, he’s not overly athletic right now, but it also took Bronny until later in high school to really start looking fairly athletic, so I think he’ll progress in that area too.

Put it this way. I think he’ll be a fair amount less skilled than Bronny, but just by virtue of ending up like 5 inches taller, I’d much sooner bet on him being a decent NBA player. He’s younger and he has more potential based on the size, whereas Bronny is already a near finished product as far as prospects go.

[LibertyPrime]

If Bronny never plays a minute in the NBA, but makes his living overseas and earns a couple million being a player on a European team for half a decade, he'll still have had more of a basketball career than 99.9% of the haters on this board. And that's why some people just can't let this go.

[GooniesNeverDie]

If he has the skill level of Trae Young he has a bright future ahead of him.
If he has the skill level of his father, I doubt it. I mean the height/size difference is huge, so unless he has insane athletism.....

The implication here is wild lmao

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using RealGM Forums mobile app

[DoctorX]

Lol. He can easily be 6'5-6'6 barefoot by age 20. He's on a fine trajectory, his problem is he's not driven enough.

Very few people grow after age 18. I doubt he will grow after he turns 18.

Actually a lot of men do grow up tiny bit after that, it's quite common in fact among men. But yes. If he is now 6'3 it's probably safe to say he won't go over 6'4. We aren't talking about puberty here.

Actually, it's not quite common. Most studies show only 1-2 percent of men grown after age 18. Most guys growth plates are closed by 18 and thus why you can't grow anymore.

[azcatz11]

If Bronny never plays a minute in the NBA, but makes his living overseas and earns a couple million being a player on a European team for half a decade, he'll still have had more of a basketball career than 99.9% of the haters on this board. And that's why some people just can't let this go.

He’s not giving you any money bro no need to defend him lol

[LibertyPrime]

If Bronny never plays a minute in the NBA, but makes his living overseas and earns a couple million being a player on a European team for half a decade, he'll still have had more of a basketball career than 99.9% of the haters on this board. And that's why some people just can't let this go.

He’s not giving you any money bro no need to defend him lol

Not defending anyone, just pointing out facts.

[Pelly24]

Bryce will be the real prize. He’s going to be a lot taller than Bronny.

This narrative has picked up a lot of steam, but honestly I'm not even sure Bryce has ever been an above average player at any level. Really pretty unremarkable athletic ability as he seems to lack quick-twitch explosiveness. Bryce looks skilled, but doesn't really have a guard's handle. Has a smooth jumper and seems to have a solid IQ, I think he's still growing. Looks about 6'4" maybe now. But who knows? Everyone thought bronny was still growing, but he's been the same height since middle of freshman year. Even if Bryce does get to 6'7" and is a really pretty skilled player and has decent athleticism, that's not necessarily an NBA player. Before anyone ever really begins being included in NBA convos, they should at least be dominant in high school, or just have a lot of upside with a rare build/skillset. There are a lot of fairly skilled 6'6" guys but they won't make the NBA. Bronny is at least a top 100 player on in his class, and I'm probably being conservative. He held his own pretty easily at NBPA camp, played well at Peach Jam, has been a better player on SC the last three years. There's a lot that goes into even being a legit 3-star prospect, let alone an NBA player.

Bryce is already taller than LeBron was at the same age if I’m not mistaken. He’s around 6’6 in shoes now as a freshman. I agree his skill isn’t too impressive at that point, but I think just the fact that he’ll likely be very big (6’8+ probably) gives him a much better chance at being a successful NBA player than Bronny. And you’re right, he’s not overly athletic right now, but it also took Bronny until later in high school to really start looking fairly athletic, so I think he’ll progress in that area too.

Put it this way. I think he’ll be a fair amount less skilled than Bronny, but just by virtue of ending up like 5 inches taller, I’d much sooner bet on him being a decent NBA player. He’s younger and he has more potential based on the size, whereas Bronny is already a near finished product as far as prospects go.

I really don't think Bryce is any taller than 6'4" barefoot and literally didn't play a minute of varsity time on a clearly worse SC team than the one Bronny was making impactful plays for. Mind you, Bryce was a young freshman who's pretty much around an actual freshman's age now. But i just think people need to pump the breaks a bit. Bronny was a pretty dominant middle school player who was like, dunking in games and dropping 25-30 points at times. There are a lot of 6'5"+ guys in 2023 that Bronny is a lot better than because he's more athletic and has a far higher basketball IQ. i just feel like people should let Bryce show some actual talent before they get into this convo.

and Bryce looks like he'll grow taller but we'll see

[xBulletproof]

Haha. This OP title at least was hilarious. I couldn't get very far reading.

As we know, the 6'3 barefoot NBA player. It's up there with Bigfoot and aliens. Just impossible to find. Doesn't exist. Its a myth.

People say some weird things sometimes.

[Lockdown504090]

Very few people grow after age 18. I doubt he will grow after he turns 18.

Actually a lot of men do grow up tiny bit after that, it's quite common in fact among men. But yes. If he is now 6'3 it's probably safe to say he won't go over 6'4. We aren't talking about puberty here.

Actually, it's not quite common. Most studies show only 1-2 percent of men grown after age 18. Most guys growth plates are closed by 18 and thus why you can't grow anymore.

Seems diff for hoopers than 2 percent. General statistics probably aren’t that useful when talking about a group of genetic outliers

[triple_threat]

Disclaimer for dumbasses ready to come here saying: WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A KID!!!: We start recruiting talent long before high school, so a ranked incoming junior (let alone the player being son of lebron james) will not only be talked about, but at this point we'll all have a very clear picture about him.

It's unfortunate. The kid has barely grown in the last couple years, couple years and a half. He's no more than 6'3 barefoot. He may be a little taller than guys like curry, kyrie, but he's without a doubt smaller than dwade. I would be very surprised if he ever reaches dwade's size, I think he has reached his final height. Unfortunately for Lebron, whose biggest goal right now is to play with/against his son and for him to have a good nba career, and for Lebron's fans like me, that's probably a death sentence on the kid's nba chances. On the other end, bryce is looking big as hell, if he keeps growing it's definitely time to follow him. He has shown good shooting, and now good size as well, but no athleticism and therefore everything that comes with it basketball wise, but let's see from this season on.

I followed him since he was 9 or so, especially his freshman season (sophomore season and aau freshman summer were wasted by covid and this year he got a torn meniscus, so since 2020 aau summer he has played very little, let's hope he bounces back this last 2 hs years), so let me give you a summary of his game. He's always been good, but never special. He's 6'3, decent strength, fast and has hops. Has a good shooting stroke and he knows how to play all around. Unfortunately, he doesn't have elite talent. First of all he has a pg body, maybe a bigger than average pg but not even a smaller sg body. Maybe if he gets bigger he can have a small sg body, but that's a stretch. At that size, you need incredible talent to be a real nba player. Bronny, while very fast and bouncy in a vacuum, doesn't have great basketball athleticism. He's very slow on his feet and doesn't have great explosion. Most importantly, he isn't very good at creating off the dribble or at overall creation/self creation. While he has a very solid shooting form, he's a decent, not great, shooter. It all comes down to size. If he was 6'6", he could easily be a very good 3&D wing, who can also drive to the cup sometimes and pass, high iq. At 6'3", he doesn't have good enough skils, athleticism. If you followed his career, in most of his teams (don't even consider his freshman sierra canyon team, who had two nba players like zaire williams and bj boston, and a lot of high major d1 talent while he was only a freshman) he was always like the 4-5th guy. Which isn't bad, because he could contribute in elite teams and sometimes be one of the best on the floor, but he wasn't ever the guy or one of the main guys. Even leaving out the super highly ranked kids like mikey williams, dior johnson, elijah fisher etc. his teams always had someone who dominated with his shooting (gabe cupps), someone with size, someone with athleticism, while he was always nice all-around but not THAT GUY.
Again, I'm not saying he's bad. 6'3, good shooting, good iq, athletic, all of that. But at that size you need elite creation, dribbling, or playmaking ability which he doesn't have (at an elite high school level, he struggles to bring the ball up the floor), or elite athleticism which he doesn't have (he never blows by defender), or you need to be an absolute dead-eye shooter, or amazing defense. I'not saying you gott have all of those. If I had to say, he isn't that far from the standard as far as defense and shooting and iq. As far as athleticism, he isn't functionally athletic but he can maybe get there as he has some tools. What it's really lacking is the overall skill/driblling, creation, tigh handle under pressure etc.
At the end of the day, he will definitely go to an important d1 school, and he has a lot of time to grow. He's also got all of the resources in the world and teams will probably draft him if he shows the slightest signs of being an nba player. If he can get college playing time, and improve year by year, maybe he has a chance. As far as rankings go, he's 49th in his class on espn, 32th on 247, and overall in the 30-40 range in various recruiting sites.

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You make him sound like a taller d fisher

[Lalouie]

whelp....i mean, what makes lebron so different is that he's 6'8/255 and built like a freight train. his skillset is overblown because the package has never been seen in a man that size - his SIZE is what's different.

if you could take the top3 physical beasts in the history of the nba,,,,,,,it would be wilt, shaq, and lebron

bronny at an "ordinary 6'3" is already off on the wrong foot. the required skill level at that size becomes paramount

[HangTime]

Dennis Rodman grew from 5'9 to 6'8 at the age of 20.

[Gibson22]

Be like pelly and heej

[yoyoboy]

This narrative has picked up a lot of steam, but honestly I'm not even sure Bryce has ever been an above average player at any level. Really pretty unremarkable athletic ability as he seems to lack quick-twitch explosiveness. Bryce looks skilled, but doesn't really have a guard's handle. Has a smooth jumper and seems to have a solid IQ, I think he's still growing. Looks about 6'4" maybe now. But who knows? Everyone thought bronny was still growing, but he's been the same height since middle of freshman year. Even if Bryce does get to 6'7" and is a really pretty skilled player and has decent athleticism, that's not necessarily an NBA player. Before anyone ever really begins being included in NBA convos, they should at least be dominant in high school, or just have a lot of upside with a rare build/skillset. There are a lot of fairly skilled 6'6" guys but they won't make the NBA. Bronny is at least a top 100 player on in his class, and I'm probably being conservative. He held his own pretty easily at NBPA camp, played well at Peach Jam, has been a better player on SC the last three years. There's a lot that goes into even being a legit 3-star prospect, let alone an NBA player.

Bryce is already taller than LeBron was at the same age if I’m not mistaken. He’s around 6’6 in shoes now as a freshman. I agree his skill isn’t too impressive at that point, but I think just the fact that he’ll likely be very big (6’8+ probably) gives him a much better chance at being a successful NBA player than Bronny. And you’re right, he’s not overly athletic right now, but it also took Bronny until later in high school to really start looking fairly athletic, so I think he’ll progress in that area too.

Put it this way. I think he’ll be a fair amount less skilled than Bronny, but just by virtue of ending up like 5 inches taller, I’d much sooner bet on him being a decent NBA player. He’s younger and he has more potential based on the size, whereas Bronny is already a near finished product as far as prospects go.

I really don't think Bryce is any taller than 6'4" barefoot and literally didn't play a minute of varsity time on a clearly worse SC team than the one Bronny was making impactful plays for. Mind you, Bryce was a young freshman who's pretty much around an actual freshman's age now. But i just think people need to pump the breaks a bit. Bronny was a pretty dominant middle school player who was like, dunking in games and dropping 25-30 points at times. There are a lot of 6'5"+ guys in 2023 that Bronny is a lot better than because he's more athletic and has a far higher basketball IQ. i just feel like people should let Bryce show some actual talent before they get into this convo.

and Bryce looks like he'll grow taller but we'll see

I understand what you're saying. Height wise, I agree with you on around 6'4 barefoot, but that's 6'5-6'5.5 in shoes which is still tall for a freshman.

Bryce turned 15 just a little over a month ago. LeBron was 6'4 in shoes at almost 15 years old and 6'6 in shoes at 16 years old. So it's not unreasonable to expect him to be just as tall as LeBron. Bronny is 6'3 in shoes max and has probably stopped growing. At 6'8-6'9, you don't have to be NEARLY as athletic and skilled as someone 5 inches shorter. Length and height are just enormous advantages.

So I agree with you Bronny was better at the same age, no doubt, but I just think Bryce actually has the potential to come into his own and develop into a much better player, whereas Bronny's more optimistic outcomes don't even look that promising right now. Bronny's game is like Lonzo Ball as a prospect but with less playmaking talent and 3 inches less size. I'm not sure Lonzo is in the NBA if you downgrade him in those factors. Floor wise, Bronny is the safer bet to be a productive college player at the least compared to Bryce because he's shown more skill thus far. But if I'm betting on NBA potential, I just don't see it with Bronny whereas Bryce at the very least has a chance due to his size advantage and near 3 years of development ahead of him.

I also want to mention that one pattern we've seen with basketball players is the "little brother effect." Growing up playing against older siblings who also play a sport seems to have a really positive effect in development, which is partly why the younger brothers usually end up better statistically. There was a comprehensive study done on it and "the elite athletes had 1.04 older siblings on average [while] nonelite athletes had only 0.61." As a Cavs fan, I know how Mobley talks about the advantage of constantly playing against his brother Isaiah all the time. It's really beneficial to have to go up against someone taller, stronger, and more experienced for so many years of your life, so I wouldn't discount that for Bryce.

[Pelly24]

whelp....i mean, what makes lebron so different is that he's 6'8/255 and built like a freight train. his skillset is overblown because the package has never been seen in a man that size - his SIZE is what's different.

if you could take the top3 physical beasts in the history of the nba,,,,,,,it would be wilt, shaq, and lebron

bronny at an "ordinary 6'3" is already off on the wrong foot. the required skill level at that size becomes paramount

I think you're underestimating LeBron's skill lol. I saw an OG who said the first time they saw LeBron he was 14 dropping 30 points on 17 year olds on all off-balance shots lol. LeBron has a supernatural amount of pure basketball talent we all can't even fathom. He's able to do a bunch of things inexplicably and its like God was like, "Oh, that's right, he's LeBron, he can do this too." LeBron was already the best player in his class by the beginning of his freshman year, when he was only 6'3" or so. He was making floaters and had amazing pace and feel and touch around the basket. LeBron as a sophomore was regularly hitting turnaround jumpers, and on top of all that, he was already a better passer than basically everyone but 5 or 6 people in the NBA. His handle ahs always been very underrated. He's always had a very underrated handle. His turnover rate is insanely low for a 6'8" guy and he's always able to beat people off the dribble, which you still need an above average handle for, even with elite athleticism.

With his athleticism, or even 75% of it he was going to be an all-star, and a god one.

But besides all of that, how can (no offense) people still say LeBron's skillset is overblown when he's out here averaging 30/8/8 on elite efficiency in season 19? His athleticism is far away from what it used to be. He's amazingly skilled. One of the best shot-makers ever, one of the best passers ever, highest IQ ever maybe.

[yoyoboy]

whelp....i mean, what makes lebron so different is that he's 6'8/255 and built like a freight train. his skillset is overblown because the package has never been seen in a man that size - his SIZE is what's different.

if you could take the top3 physical beasts in the history of the nba,,,,,,,it would be wilt, shaq, and lebron

bronny at an "ordinary 6'3" is already off on the wrong foot. the required skill level at that size becomes paramount

I honestly don't think his skillset is overblown. If you made prime LeBron 6'3 he would still be an NBA player. I'm not sure how many other players above 6'7 you can say that for. So that alone, really speaks volumes on his skillset.

[og15]

Bryce will be the real prize. He’s going to be a lot taller than Bronny.

This narrative has picked up a lot of steam, but honestly I'm not even sure Bryce has ever been an above average player at any level. Really pretty unremarkable athletic ability as he seems to lack quick-twitch explosiveness. Bryce looks skilled, but doesn't really have a guard's handle. Has a smooth jumper and seems to have a solid IQ, I think he's still growing. Looks about 6'4" maybe now. But who knows? Everyone thought bronny was still growing, but he's been the same height since middle of freshman year. Even if Bryce does get to 6'7" and is a really pretty skilled player and has decent athleticism, that's not necessarily an NBA player. Before anyone ever really begins being included in NBA convos, they should at least be dominant in high school, or just have a lot of upside with a rare build/skillset. There are a lot of fairly skilled 6'6" guys but they won't make the NBA. Bronny is at least a top 100 player on in his class, and I'm probably being conservative. He held his own pretty easily at NBPA camp, played well at Peach Jam, has been a better player on SC the last three years. There's a lot that goes into even being a legit 3-star prospect, let alone an NBA player.

Bryce is too young to judge that, a lot of change can and does happen with players at his stage, especially if they get height boosts

[og15]

Are we going to pretend to forget that Earl Boykins for example was able to get into the league and have a good career at 5'5? and Muggsy Bogues before him at 5'3? Yet you're on here saying Bronny can't possible make it because he's 6'3 bare foot. It's not about height, its about skills and ability to improve over time.

Bogues played in the days before analytics ruined everything. He'd never get a shot now.

Bogues was also an outlier in his time anyways, it's not like there were multiple 5'3 guys running around the league.

[Lalouie]

whelp....i mean, what makes lebron so different is that he's 6'8/255 and built like a freight train. his skillset is overblown because the package has never been seen in a man that size - his SIZE is what's different.

if you could take the top3 physical beasts in the history of the nba,,,,,,,it would be wilt, shaq, and lebron

bronny at an "ordinary 6'3" is already off on the wrong foot. the required skill level at that size becomes paramount

I honestly don't think his skillset is overblown. If you made prime LeBron 6'3 he would still be an NBA player. I'm not sure how many other players above 6'7 you can say that for. So that alone, really speaks volumes on his skillset.

mmmm i dunno. then you're saying his skillset ALONE is enough. i have trouble with that.

i don't know how "bbIQ" is measured, but i see his passing is hugely dependent on his size.
his offense of course was always about him being an irresistable force. i think a poor man's baron davis maybe, if he was 6'3
would he have made the nba..... of course. he's too good not to.

allz i'm asking is can bronny make it. as he will always suffer from the comparison, the issue of size matters.
eliminate the comparison and are we over or under evaluating 6'3 bronny fairly