With Bronny James‘ freshman season at USC winding down, the biggest storyline this summer is which route the 19-year-old will take. Will he enlist in the upcoming draft or stay back in college another year to develop his skills? Bronny has had a tough start to his collegiate career, laced with a health scare, limited playing time, bench role, and the voice of the critics yelling nepotism. The latest ESPN mock draft excluding him from the 2024 mock draft and instead projecting him to be the 39th overall pick in 2025 was no help either. This has led many to advise him to continue his NCAA journey.

Among the people advocating for Bronny to stay another year at USC is 2x NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. On the recent episode of Ball Don’t Stop, Marbury explained that one more year of college is the sounder choice for LeBron James‘ eldest since he has not been able to secure enough playing minutes during his freshman year.

Should Bronny run it back another season with USC?

Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest last July during a practice session and was later diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. Following the diagnosis, he underwent surgery to fix the issue, causing him to miss nearly five months of action and the first eight games of the season. Since his recovery, he has been on a minute restriction to ease him into action and is now only averaging 19.5 minutes. Therefore, as per Marbury, his 5.0 points per game do not even scratch the surface of his potential right now. “You can’t go by stats with him right now because he’s only playing half the game. His ability to shoot, get to the rim, pass and block shots is grade A. One more year of college will help,” said Marbury.

While two years of college is uncommon for basketball players, it is also not something unheard of. Marbury pointed out that even Allen Iverson took that route, and as we all witnessed, he turned out to be one of the brightest stars in the league. Moreover, Boogie Ellis, Isaiah Collier, and Kobe Johnson are all expected to declare for the NBA Draft this summer, which allows James to start for his team next year and get significant playing time. However, the possibility of him declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft is not completely off the table.

Recently, LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, revealed that, despite what the mock drafts say, younger James will weigh his entry based on specific team interest. “I don’t value a young player getting into the lottery as much as I do getting him on the right team in the right developmental situation,” stated Paul on Saturday.

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