News regarding Bronny James and his future continues to be a subject of discussion and debate in the NBA world. To the few who might not be informed, Bronny is the eldest son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and has been expected to follow in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in the NBA for several years.
With Bronny having finished his first year of college while playing for the USC Trojans and LeBron James finishing Year 21 in the NBA, it appears as if the time for them to unite in the NBA is drawing close. Although Bronny has been performing at a subpar level, to say the least, recent reports reveal that he is choosing to bet on himself and his future in the NBA.
Bronny James will forgo his remaining college eligibility and stay in the draft
Before entering the NBA, most players participate in their college team. While the majority of them declare for the draft after a year of college, there are several others who spend longer in college in order to take their game to the next level before making the decision to go pro.
While Bronny’s stats indicate that he is nowhere close to NBA level, he will forgo his remaining college eligibility to stay in the draft. This means that he will be unable to return to college and play for the USC Trojans under the assumption that no team takes a chance with him and decides to draft him.
Bronny will forgo his remaining college eligibility to stay in the 2024 draft, per @DraftExpress
The deadline for players with remaining college eligibility to decide whether they’ll stay in draft or return to school is midnight tonight pic.twitter.com/OF0X46VmjG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 29, 2024
This is quite a bold move given that there is no way to tell if any team across the league will show interest in Bronny. He is a wildcard at this moment in time and wasting a valuable draft pick on him under the assumption that LeBron James in Year 22 will follow along is quite a risky decision.
Be that as it may, the majority of the basketball community believes that this is a sign of confidence and indicates that Bronny’s chances of making it to the NBA are almost a certainty.
Fans believe that Bronny James will get drafted into the NBA no matter what
All said and done, being LeBron James’ son undoubtedly gives Bronny James an advantage when compared to the rest of his draft class. Even if LeBron does not follow him to whichever team decides to draft him, the franchise’s ticket sales and fanbase will undoubtedly improve due to the fact that Bronny shares his father’s name.
He’s getting drafted then, he knows it too.
— Frenzy Sports NBA (@frenzynba) May 29, 2024
I wonder how high a team will overdraft him to try and get LeBron
— Blind World of Sports (@djdorsey_) May 29, 2024
Moreover, LeBron has a player option on his current contract with the Lakers and could potentially leave them if a contender decides to draft Bronny. This also puts pressure on the Lakers to draft LeBron’s son in order to keep him there for the remainder of his career. In any case, fans are left wondering which team will decide to take the risk and draft Bronny James.