The spotlight has gotten brighter as Bronny James takes another step toward the 2024 NBA Draft.
With the NBA Draft Combine behind him and individual team workouts underway, LeBron James’ son is quickly becoming the biggest talking point of this year’s draft class.
This level of attention is unprecedented for a projected second-round pick, but that’s to be expected when you’re the first heir to arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
For the first time since Bronny went through combine workouts and media interviews, LeBron expressed his thoughts on his son’s pre-draft process so far on the “Mind the Game” podcast with JJ Redick. LeBron praised Bronny’s demeanor through all the noise and left everyone with an important statement when evaluating Bronny’s future in the NBA.
LeBron James lays out the plan for Bronny to succeed in the NBA
There will only be one LeBron James.
Bronny is not 6-7 and 245 pounds like his father when he came to the NBA. He would also be impossible to match his father’s truly unique athleticism.
That’s why it’s important for Bronny (and his evaluators) to temper expectations when projecting his NBA future. Bronny did that to the best of his ability when he made realistic comparisons of players during his interviews at the NBA Draft Combine.
According to LeBron, his son delivered those answers organically without any guidance from his father.
“I wanted him to figure it out on his own, where he sees himself fitting in the NBA or where he sees what his [player] what the competition looks like,” LeBron told Redick.
“Seeing him mention guys like Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, some other guys in our league, Marcus Smart, Davion Mitchell. These are guys coming in and for a team that’s trying to win championships, a team that wants to win all the championships. Tonight, these are the players you should have on your team. He doesn’t always show up in the scores, but he always shows up on the winning plays.
“For Bronny to have that perspective on his current situation is fantastic.”
.@King James talks about watching Bronny go through the NBA Draft process.
Watch episode 8 with LeBron and @jj_redick: https://t.co/5hyyY2bIhe pic.twitter.com/E8yiFwbFZ5
– Mind the game (@mindthegamepod) May 22, 2024
LeBron admitted that as one of the most hyped prospects in sports history, his list of goals was obviously a little higher than his son’s.
“I know that wasn’t my goal. My goal was, I’m trying to make the All-Star Game in Year 1, I want to be an All-Star, I want to be MVP, I want to be all these things.
“A lot of us have those aspirations, but for Bronny to have that mentality, at this point in my life and my game I know where I stand, but I know how he affected the game. He’s just a winning player. I love the way he plays.” think,” LeBron continued.
“I was amazed at some of his answers to a lot of the questions that were asked, because we hadn’t really even talked about it.”
LeBron went on to talk about how proud he was of Bronny’s ability to block out outside noise. Although Bronny isn’t the prospect his father was, LeBron doesn’t believe he can handle the attention with as much aplomb as his son can.
“He’s definitely carving his own path. He’s definitely not his father and I’m not him,” LeBron stated clearly.
“I couldn’t handle the scrutiny and all the things he was going through at his age and at his level and with social media. I didn’t have social media to deal with when I came in.” [to the NBA] at 18.
“I had a lot of scrutiny, I had a lot of things put on my shoulders, but I didn’t have 24-hour news coverage, sports shows, talking about this particular person every day. “You go on the Internet or social media. ..everyone can comment what they want to say. I didn’t have to deal with that,” LeBron said.
“To see him handle it with so much class and self-awareness and staying level-headed, it’s extraordinary. I’m super proud of him.”
Bronny reportedly improved his draft stock at the combine and has drawn interest from several teams, including the Lakers. It is now believed that he could be chosen at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second.
