Bronny James would be most scrutinized rookie in NBA history if he's teammates with LeBron
INDIANAPOLIS – Before Victor Wembanyama changes everything, this is safe to say: No player has ever entered the NBA with more happy hype than LeBron James in 2003. Because of what happened in 2003, and because of what has happened in the 20 years since, and because of what could happen over the next 15 months, this also seems safe to say:
No player will enter the NBA with more heavy pressure than what could await Bronny James.
You know who Bronny is, right? That’s LeBron’s son. Bronny graduated this weekend from Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. That’s where he’s been, lately. He has committed to play the 2023-24 college basketball season at Southern California. That’s where he’ll be, next.
After that? Well, we’ll see — you’re reading a sportswriter, not Nostradamus — and what happens after Bronny’s freshman season at USC depends on a good many things.
It depends on his father, on LeBron. He has a decision to make on the 2023-24 NBA season, and no matter what he decides — he could take the year off, you know — he’ll have a decision to make on the season after that.
And it depends on Bronny. How good is he, really? We’ll see. Good enough to enter the 2024 NBA draft? Repeat after me: We’ll see.
But you can see where this thing could be heading. It’s where the basketball world has seen it heading — it’s where LeBron James himself has said he sees it heading — for two years.
Bronny James entering the 2024 NBA draft. LeBron, a free agent after next season, signing with the team that drafts his son. The 2024-25 NBA season approaching like a slow-motion blooper reel, one of those things you watch with hands over eyes, fingers spread. What’s coming is so stressful you really don’t want to see it, but it’s so compelling — so historic — you can’t help but watch.
Imagine entering the NBA at age 19, not just as LeBron James’ teammate — with all the attention that comes with that — but as his son.
Nope. In the history of professional sports, nobody has ever entered their rookie season with more pressure than what could await Bronny James in 1½ years.
Here’s the thing: It could happen right here. It could happen with the Indiana Pacers.
Unless LeBron pulls the plug first.
More: Bronny James graduates from high school; LeBron James shares family video
Bryce Harper had it easy in comparison
People don’t like it when you say something as large as what I just said:
In the history of professional sports, nobody has ever…
COME ON, people like to complain, THAT’S RIDICULOUS.
You know those people. They’re the ones who know everything without knowing much of anything, the ones who pick an argument and support it with unassailable facts like a well-placed clown emoji or, better yet, an LOL. How do you argue with an emoji? You don’t. You whine about it in advance, as I’m doing here, and move on.
And seriously, I’ve put thought into this and can’t come up with any rookie — in any sport — to turn pro with more pressure than Bronny James would face in 2024-25 if he’s playing alongside his father. Try putting yourself in Bronny’s shoes, and if that thought doesn’t blow your mind, try harder.
One athlete that comes to mind is Bryce Harper in baseball. Remember how you first heard of him? Sports Illustrated put him on its cover at age 16, calling him (ahem) the LeBron James of baseball, another version of “the chosen one.” That was May 2009. He was nearing the end of his sophomore year of high school. Five months later Harper announced he had earned his GED and was enrolling at the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college, which would allow him to enter the 2010 MLB draft.
The kid skipped his final two years of high school. The Washington Nationals drafted Harper No. 1 overall in 2010, because he was said to be the greatest prospect since Alex Rodriguez in 1993 or Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987. That was pressure. That was also mind-blowing.
But Harper was able to spend the next two years in the minor leagues, largely out of the public eye in towns like Hagerstown, Md., and Harrisburg, Penn., and Syracuse, N.Y. It’s true, he received considerably more attention than the typical minor-leaguer — I was at CBSSports.com at the time, living in Cincinnati, and drove to Akron in 2011 to write about Harper in Double A — but there’s only so much attention you can get in the Eastern League. By the time he was an MLB rookie in 2012 he’d had two years on his own, surrounded by adult teammates, growing into his enormous talents without ESPN showing every swing and Twitter trolls celebrating every miss.
Bryce Harper had it easy compared to Bronny James.
So did LeBron James, back in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. So will Wembanyama, in six months with the San Antonio Spurs.
See, those two — LeBron and Wemby — have something Bronny James will never have: Physical advantages over everyone. LeBron was 6-8 and 245 pounds, the best combination of size, strength, speed and skill in NBA history. There goes another of those sentences, right?
The best combination of…
Tell me who ever had more.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama. He’s unique in his own way, even more astonishing than LeBron, and LeBron was the next athlete on the evolutionary continuum. But Wembanyama has skipped a step or two on that continuum, about to become one of the tallest players in NBA history, with one of the longest wingspans in NBA history, and with the skill of a guard.
Emphasis mine.
Bronny? He’s physically gifted, don’t be ridiculous. He’s about 6-3 and 190 pounds, with a vertical leap said to be in the 40-inch range. He’s no garden-variety athlete. But unlike his dad, unlike Wembanyama, the day he makes his NBA debut, he’ll be the most special player on the court for just one reason:
His last name.
This is not me attacking Bronny James. This is me knowing what could happen to him in 18 months. This is me trying to cushion the blow.
More: LeBron James hints at retirement, a reality that shouldn't surprise NBA fans
Bronny James has handled stardom like a champ
Bronny James has had a Wikipedia page since he was 13. Why? Because his first name was Bronny. Second name, James. That’s why.
He signed up for Instagram when he was 14. By the end of the day he had 1 million followers. Why? Same reason.
The kid has handled it unbelievably well. Seriously, what’s the worst thing you know about Bronny James? Excuse me while I head to my search engine … OK, just got back from Google. Here’s the worst thing I found, and it’s from 2020. Headline:
LeBron James’ son Bronny appears to smoke marijuana in viral clip
That was Page 6. That’s the New York Post. Why was he on Page 6 of the NY Post at age 15? Same reason as above.
No idea if Bronny will ever be a star in the NBA, but he appears to have his dad’s supernatural maturity. Uh-oh, there goes another of those sentences people don’t like.
… his dad’s supernatural maturity.
Show me another kid who could live his life in that spotlight and never find real trouble. Bronny James is the closest thing we have in America to Prince Harry, born into royalty, famous because of his gene pool, because of his name, because of nothing he did on his own. Prince Harry has had some stumbles, as you’d expect, and now I’m remembering me as a teenager. Can’t imagine giving that kid access to Twitter, much less him — me, I’m saying — being the subject of strangers’ camera phones from the time he could walk.
Bronny James is astounding, whether he ever plays a minute in the NBA. And he will, if for no other reason than his name. Hey, maybe he becomes a really good NBA player. He’s considered a borderline top-25 prospect in the high school class of 2024, which is awfully impressive and yet disappointing:
Borderline top 25? That all? Bronny James?
Let’s assume the best. Let’s assume he plays well enough as a USC freshman that he enters the 2024 NBA draft. Let’s assume his father, LeBron, plays out his contract with the Lakers in 2024-23 and waits to see who drafts Bronny before signing with that team for the 2024-25 season. That scenario is more than realistic. It’s been LeBron’s spoken plan for years, though in fairness to Dad, as we get closer to the 2024, he has softened his stance, telling ESPN’s Dave McMenamin after the Lakers’ playoff elimination earlier this month: “Just because that's my aspiration or my goal, doesn't mean it's his. And I'm absolutely OK with that.”
More: How will LeBron James' desire to play with Bronny affect his retirement decision?
Figure that out well before the 2024 NBA draft, please. Otherwise, because of the drawing power of both, because of the ability of LeBron to play and attract free agents, Bronny James would be drafted way too high by a team assuming the package deal remains in place. Hell, he could go No. 1 overall in 2024 just so the drafting team — imagine the Pacers winning that lottery — could get its hands on LeBron, attract those free agents, make that run at the 2025 NBA title and sell those tickets.
You telling me that wouldn’t happen?
Dad will be 39. Bronny will be 19. This has long been the father’s dream.
Sounds like a son’s nightmare.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.