Bronny James’ Scouting Report Likens 6’1 Guard to ‘Poor Man’s Davion Mitchell,’ Might Go “Undrafted” If Lakers Decide To Snub

As much as everyone was surprised by the display of skills by Bronny James at the NBA Combine, it seems hardened veterans don’t see too much. Given his year, nobody expected the 19-year-old to perform as well as he did. His 40.5-inch vertical and how he held up against NBA-caliber talent had everyone take a step back. Then there was his presser. The 6’1 guard’s comments about wanting to create his path and not just be known as LeBron James‘s son impressed a lot. Unfortunately for the Bronny fans, a few scouts don’t rate him as an NBA prospect.

Joining NBA Today, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears read the reports of two veteran scouts on Bronny. One of them had quite the unexpected comparison. “He’s a poor man’s Davion Mitchell. He’s not an NBA prospect, in my opinion.” The report said that if the Lakers do not draft James Jr, he would likely go “undrafted.” Interestingly, he is otherwise projected to be a second-round pick in the NBA draft.

As for the Davion comparison, Mitchell’s draft profile read almost similar to the USC guard’s. “Despite being point guard sized, he’s also been a below-average to average decision maker, a questionable shooter, and hasn’t yet shown the ability to be a reliable scoring option.” This was about the then 22-year-old Georgia native.

The other scout that Spears talked to had a corresponding opinion. “[Bronny James] should be a point guard based on his size, but he can’t run an offense. He’s handicapped as an undersized shooting guard.” An elite defender, one of the best in fact, Mitchell has struggled on the offensive side of things. While his three-point shooting was fairly decent, the 6’1, 202-pound Baylor product didn’t have the best record from the charity stripe.

But he has put in the work during the offseason. He spent time training with Stephen Curry’s trainer to get better at shooting and picked the brains of veterans during his travels. It seemed to have paid off, as was seen in the way he stepped up for Sacramento. And it seems it is one of the reasons Bronny James looks up to the young guard.

Bronny James believes Davion Mitchell is someone who does the right thing

The 19-year-old didn’t have to think twice when he was asked about the players who influenced him the most. He had three names – Celtics veteran Jrue Holiday, star guard, Derrick White, and the other guard from the Kings, Davion Mitchell. The reason? “[They] make all the right plays … I feel like that’s what I want to be.” 

Davion heeded the call of his team in the absence of key players, Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. Their horrible season-ending injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Kings were making a case for themselves when tragedy struck the highly ambitious ‘Beam Team’. At the time, the 2021 NCAA champion saw an increase in his overall workload from January 22. His stats from then prove how he has risen to the occasion – 6.6 points while shooting 49.2% from the field and 42.6% from three in 17.7 minutes a game.

Mitchell’s regular season stat line reads like this – 5.3 points while going 36.1% from downtown and 45.2% from the field in 15.3 minutes per game. All the offseason training and more responsibilities certainly look to suit Mitchell.

While scouts have dubbed Bronny James as the “poor man’s Davion Mitchell,” it would seem the eldest of the James family already planned on modeling his game after the man in question. Among others, of course. Well, like Rich Paul said, it is more about finding a team or a place that can help Bronny develop into a professional player. So, even if he doesn’t get drafted right away, there won’t be any harm done.

Because the one thing everyone agrees on is that Bronny James has real potential to eventually become a remarkable player!