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

[JayMKE]

People need to keep in mind we're talking about a kid that is just starting his junior year of high school, I have no idea how much Bronny loves basketball and its hard to relate to someone who could literally do anything he wants in life but expecting him to be his father is not a fair or realistic expectation. Having Lebron as a dad is a pretty big booster and Lebron seems more like a dad who will relish in his son's basketball career as opposed to say MJ with his kids. Lebron mugging the camera every college game from the sidelines is worth the scholarship in itself. Money and recruits are going to follow Lebron wherever he goes and don't forget he's the shadow owner of his own agency & probably a future NBA owner himself; when Lebron retires eventually I don't think he going to just fade off into a haze of gambling, cigars, whiskey, and golf.

[dc]

People need to keep in mind we're talking about a kid that is just starting his junior year of high school, I have no idea how much Bronny loves basketball and its hard to relate to someone who could literally do anything he wants in life but expecting him to be his father is not a fair or realistic expectation. Having Lebron as a dad is a pretty big booster and Lebron seems more like a dad who will relish in his son's basketball career as opposed to say MJ with his kids. Lebron mugging the camera every college game from the sidelines is worth the scholarship in itself. Money and recruits are going to follow Lebron wherever he goes and don't forget he's the shadow owner of his own agency & probably a future NBA owner himself; when Lebron retires eventually I don't think he going to just fade off into a haze of gambling, cigars, whiskey, and golf.

Sure, he's just a junior but keep in mind a lot of kids are identified relatively early on. Emoni Bates is only 9 months older but he's been talked about as an elite prospect and future NBA all-star for 3+ years now. Some guys are definitely later bloomers (Curry for ex), but right now there's nothing about this kid that stands out even at the college level. Just doesn't have any high level traits.

People knew early on that Bronny wasn't going to be anything like his father. The question then became if he could be an NBA rotation level player or a 1st round draft pick. Right now, the answer to that looks like a No. If there was another 17 year old HS player of the exact size and skill level, that guy wouldn't even get a mention on even the most obscure and unknown basketball forums.

[Pelly24]

Well he isn't an elite prospect and I haven't seen one site rate him as such. The thread premise that he "probably won't ever be a real nba player" is flawed. 6'3 without shoes is plenty enough to play either guard spot, better shooter than his dad at the same age, playmaking chops and good size/frame for a guard.



So for the past year and some change he's been ranked anywhere from 24-30. So no, he's not his dad or one of the "elite" prospects, but for OP to write him off from making the NBA because of his own "internet" scouting is flawed and isn't worth discussing IMO.

I think you can never truly write someone off, but it's not based on internet scouting. Being 6'2," you need to be a lot more athletic than the average high school guard if you want to make it to the NBA. Watch Josh Selby, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kyrie, John Wall and people like that in high school. Watch how all those people just blow by guys, snatch a rebound and go coast to coast for finishes, dunk on people, stuff like that. This kid is not remotely similar to any of those folks. But the thing is he's also not as good a ball handler or shooter or passer as those guys. So not as athletic, not nearly as skilled. The size part is off, he's small even if he's not short for a point guard.

But those guys (except for Selby) all made it as stars/high paid starters in the NBA. Nobody thinks Bronny is going to be Derrick Rose. It's just a question of whether he can get drafted at all, even in the late second round (which I think is close to 100% yes given who his father is, how well his father is aging, what his father has said about wanting to play together, and how little teams value late second round picks) and whether he *deserves* to be drafted in the late second (which is probably more 50-50).

The question is not "can he equal Kyrie?" It's "can he equal Sharife Cooper?"

I get that but then I have to ask: did you watch sharife Cooper on high school? Because he was one of the quickest and fastest players in the nation and he could blow by people at will. He dominated players game in and game out. Bronny has never shown that level of talent at any point. The question of whether he can be a sharife is basically answered at this point. Probably not. And that’s fine. The buzz probably ends this year and he’ll continue living his awesome life.

[JayMKE]

People need to keep in mind we're talking about a kid that is just starting his junior year of high school, I have no idea how much Bronny loves basketball and its hard to relate to someone who could literally do anything he wants in life but expecting him to be his father is not a fair or realistic expectation. Having Lebron as a dad is a pretty big booster and Lebron seems more like a dad who will relish in his son's basketball career as opposed to say MJ with his kids. Lebron mugging the camera every college game from the sidelines is worth the scholarship in itself. Money and recruits are going to follow Lebron wherever he goes and don't forget he's the shadow owner of his own agency & probably a future NBA owner himself; when Lebron retires eventually I don't think he going to just fade off into a haze of gambling, cigars, whiskey, and golf.

Sure, he's just a junior but keep in mind a lot of kids are identified relatively early on. Emoni Bates is only 9 months older but he's been talked about as an elite prospect and future NBA all-star for 3+ years now. Some guys are definitely later bloomers (Curry for ex), but right now there's nothing about this kid that stands out even at the college level. Just doesn't have any high level traits.

People knew early on that Bronny wasn't going to be anything like his father. The question then became if he could be an NBA rotation level player or a 1st round draft pick. Right now, the answer to that looks like a No. If there was another 17 year old HS player of the exact size and skill level, that guy wouldn't even get a mention on even the most obscure and unknown basketball forums.

He'd still get attention since he plays for a HS powerhouse with & against other top prospects for 2 more years, I don't think being the 30th ranked player in his class is that crazy or undeserved. Do you think a guy ranked there is supposed to be some slam dunk prospect?

[Maxthirty]

People need to keep in mind we're talking about a kid that is just starting his junior year of high school, I have no idea how much Bronny loves basketball and its hard to relate to someone who could literally do anything he wants in life but expecting him to be his father is not a fair or realistic expectation. Having Lebron as a dad is a pretty big booster and Lebron seems more like a dad who will relish in his son's basketball career as opposed to say MJ with his kids. Lebron mugging the camera every college game from the sidelines is worth the scholarship in itself. Money and recruits are going to follow Lebron wherever he goes and don't forget he's the shadow owner of his own agency & probably a future NBA owner himself; when Lebron retires eventually I don't think he going to just fade off into a haze of gambling, cigars, whiskey, and golf.

Sure, he's just a junior but keep in mind a lot of kids are identified relatively early on. Emoni Bates is only 9 months older but he's been talked about as an elite prospect and future NBA all-star for 3+ years now. Some guys are definitely later bloomers (Curry for ex), but right now there's nothing about this kid that stands out even at the college level. Just doesn't have any high level traits.

People knew early on that Bronny wasn't going to be anything like his father. The question then became if he could be an NBA rotation level player or a 1st round draft pick. Right now, the answer to that looks like a No. If there was another 17 year old HS player of the exact size and skill level, that guy wouldn't even get a mention on even the most obscure and unknown basketball forums.

He'd still get attention since he plays for a HS powerhouse with & against other top prospects for 2 more years, I don't think being the 30th ranked player in his class is that crazy or undeserved. Do you think a guy ranked there is supposed to be some slam dunk prospect?

I haven’t watched a lot of Bronny but I do follow recruiting pretty close. He doesn’t look like a #30 kid to me.

[madmaxmedia]

I've had this conversation with other friends of mine..not specifically about Bronny but sons of all time legend players. There has never been a son that has surpassed their father in the NBA. If you grow up privileged, you're missing that hunger/drive to be the best. Domantas is a very good player, but not better than his father at his peak. It's kind of historical..look at MJ's sons. But they still live great lives.

lol I mean is this really a conversation that needs to be had. You're talking about like 20-30 players who could be considered legendary. An extremely small pool of players, has nothing to with growing up privileged. Any kid of a NBA player even if they're a bench player grows up quite well. Steph Curry grew up privileged, so did Klay Thompson.

How many sons of legendary lottery winners have surpassed their fathers with a bigger lottery win?

I do have a decent NFL example- Both Peyton and Eli Manning surpassed their father Archie Manning, who was very well-regarded if not perhaps a legendary quarterback.

[Kent]

"IT'S OFFICIAL."

The only thing that's "official" is that we, as a community, have used nine pages to state what OP is suggesting to be anything but official.

Bronny could be the player he is at 5'1" and just because he's Lebron's son, I would characterize his chances at making the NBA to be moderate.

[Madhouse]

He might still be 6-5 as he only just turned 17.

His skill talent looks pretty average to me though. He might play in the NBA but he is probably not a 1 and done and doesn't project as more of a role player right now.

[WRau1]

There's like 100 + players in the NBA 6'3 and shorter, his height won't have anything to do with whether or not he gets into the league. Honestly, if the bad Ball brother and Giannis' brothers are getting camp deals, some team will use a late 2nd on LBJ's kid if he wants to be in the NBA.

[bisme37]

This is one of those threads where I can't help scratching my head wondering how there's 9 pages full of strong opinions on a kid 99% of us have never seen play basketball.

[JayMKE]

I've had this conversation with other friends of mine..not specifically about Bronny but sons of all time legend players. There has never been a son that has surpassed their father in the NBA. If you grow up privileged, you're missing that hunger/drive to be the best. Domantas is a very good player, but not better than his father at his peak. It's kind of historical..look at MJ's sons. But they still live great lives.

lol I mean is this really a conversation that needs to be had. You're talking about like 20-30 players who could be considered legendary. An extremely small pool of players, has nothing to with growing up privileged. Any kid of a NBA player even if they're a bench player grows up quite well. Steph Curry grew up privileged, so did Klay Thompson.

How many sons of legendary lottery winners have surpassed their fathers with a bigger lottery win?

I do have a decent NFL example- Both Peyton and Eli Manning surpassed their father Archie Manning, who was very well-regarded if not perhaps a legendary quarterback.

Calling Archie Manning legendary is quite a stretch, he never had a winning record and only threw more TDs than INTs two times in his career. The Saints were one of the biggest basement teams in all of sports like the Clippers until the run they had with Brees after Katrina.

[Gibson22]

To the decent, knowledgeable people who responded in this thread. Would you say he's a 3 star prospect? I would say so

[Pelly24]

To the decent, knowledgeable people who responded in this thread. Would you say he's a 3 star prospect? I would say so

It's probably fair to assume he's a 3-star player. He plays on teams w. multiple high major players and he's a positive contributor. He plays within himself because he senses he can't break down defenders and score a lot of points. He makes the right pass, he plays great defense and gets the ball ahead in transition. Occasionally he can take the ball coast to coast for a score. His jumper is too streaky though. But that said, all his teams are essentially high major teams and he plays well on them, so he could definitely make a squad somewhere and probably have a scholarship. He's a net positive who doesn't really take away anything from the team, but he can't be your first or second scorer. Probably best as your third or fourth scorer averaging 8 points, 3 assists 3 rebounds with good defense and sound decision making. A 6'2" two-way glue guy type.

[jokeboy86]

This is one of those threads where I can't help scratching my head wondering how there's 9 pages full of strong opinions on a kid 99% of us have never seen play basketball.

It's called the "Lebron effect". I'm actually surprised that the national networks and their talking heads have not already start evaluating and speculating on Bronny James because of the traffic/eyeballs his name or anything associated with Lebron brings. The only reason I can think they're not is because they are scared of the potential wrath of Lebron because it's his son. This is something I feel that even once his son is out of high school if Lebron feels the media is negative toward Bronny in any shape or form he goes scorched earth on them.

[5paceman]

This is one of those threads where I can't help scratching my head wondering how there's 9 pages full of strong opinions on a kid 99% of us have never seen play basketball.

It's called the "Lebron effect". I'm actually surprised that the national networks and their talking heads have not already start evaluating and speculating on Bronny James because of the traffic/eyeballs his name or anything associated with Lebron brings. The only reason I can think they're not is because they are scared of the potential wrath of Lebron because it's his son. This is something I feel that even once his son is out of high school if Lebron feels the media is negative toward Bronny in any shape or form he goes scorched earth on them.

Remember when Bron stopped his kids game to set the announcer strait? Angry Papa.

[TheFutureMM]

To the decent, knowledgeable people who responded in this thread. Would you say he's a 3 star prospect? I would say so

It's probably fair to assume he's a 3-star player. He plays on teams w. multiple high major players and he's a positive contributor. He plays within himself because he senses he can't break down defenders and score a lot of points. He makes the right pass, he plays great defense and gets the ball ahead in transition. Occasionally he can take the ball coast to coast for a score. His jumper is too streaky though. But that said, all his teams are essentially high major teams and he plays well on them, so he could definitely make a squad somewhere and probably have a scholarship. He's a net positive who doesn't really take away anything from the team, but he can't be your first or second scorer. Probably best as your third or fourth scorer averaging 8 points, 3 assists 3 rebounds with good defense and sound decision making. A 6'2" two-way glue guy type.

Co-sign this. He will probably be able to leverage his dads-legacy to get onto a blue blood college team (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Kansas) which would typically not recruit 3-Star prospects. I think having him be a decent 4 year college player on a decent college team will be better for him (and LeBron's) legacy as opposed to him rushing into the NBA as a 2nd round pick.

[TheBobster]

lol I mean is this really a conversation that needs to be had. You're talking about like 20-30 players who could be considered legendary. An extremely small pool of players, has nothing to with growing up privileged. Any kid of a NBA player even if they're a bench player grows up quite well. Steph Curry grew up privileged, so did Klay Thompson.

How many sons of legendary lottery winners have surpassed their fathers with a bigger lottery win?

I do have a decent NFL example- Both Peyton and Eli Manning surpassed their father Archie Manning, who was very well-regarded if not perhaps a legendary quarterback.

Calling Archie Manning legendary is quite a stretch, he never had a winning record and only threw more TDs than INTs two times in his career. The Saints were one of the biggest basement teams in all of sports like the Clippers until the run they had with Brees after Katrina.

Archie was UPI's NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1978 and played in the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979. His biggest failura as a pro was being drafted by the worst franchise in the NFL in the 70's.

As for his college career he was SEC Player of the Year and First Team All-American in 1969 and finished 4th and 5th in the Heisman voting his junior and senior years. And he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989, So his college career is certainly legendary.

It's not like we're talking about Oliver Luck and Andrew Luck.

[Pelly24]

Wade measured 6-3.75 barefoot

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It's so interesting how no one has ever just rounded Wade's height up like they do for other shooting guards. Watching him, I've never once felt that he was undersized. Kobe and MJ were 6'4.75" without shoes, so only an inch taller than Wade. ppl don't realize how tall a legit 6'4" is. Adding to that is that Wade is built like a tank and is basically an NFL wide receiver/running back in terms of speed/agility and power and bounce. Height isn't the issue so much with someone that has elite athleticism and a dense, muscular build or wiry strength. But without it, it's super hard to make it.

[KuruptedCav]

Luckily players like Derek Fisher and Anthony Carter and Kevin Ollie weren’t Lebron’s kid or else their careers would have been non-existent…


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[BostonCouchGM]

To the decent, knowledgeable people who responded in this thread. Would you say he's a 3 star prospect? I would say so

I actually think Bronny intentionally takes a backseat to teammates because like his Dad he's unselfish and he's a good teammate. The way he plays now is very understated. If Lebron wasn't his Dad and the focus wasn't on him like it is, he could probably light it up much more than he does. I think his senior year needs to be the year he becomes more aggressive, selfish even. But even if he doesn't, he can still get into a blue chip school because coaches love unselfish pass first PG with great size, athleticism and shooting ability. It's not whether he makes it into the NBA and succeeds, it's whether he, like his Dad, has a late growth spurt that makes him an elite prospect rather than just a very good one.