“Destroyed”: 19YO Bronny James Could Find Hopeful Path In A ‘Tweener’ From NBA’s 2012 Draft Class

With the 2024 NBA Draft coming closer, the chances of LeBron James’ son, Bronny, to be selected by a viable team are being continuously questioned. After leaving behind under-par stats during his college career at USC, not many expected the young athlete’s path to be crystal clear. However, thanks to his recent performance during the Draft Combine, Bronny can now run down a similar road to a young Draymond Green from 2012.

Similarly to LeBron’s son, the Golden State Warriors star was also someone who was not considered a high prospect. He had a 6-foot-6 stature, which made him a bit small for an NBA power forward. This earned him the ‘Tweener’ tag on the basketball court. Furthermore, according to his player profile on ‘DraftExpress’, Green was “not a particularly explosive athlete” on the court.

The reason for the same was listed as his lack of “ideal quickness” and “leaping ability”. However, he went on to defy this expectation and perform exceptionally during the pre-draft workout. It earned him the praise of Vice President of Basketball Operations Kirk Lacob as well, who went on to say, “We’ll never forget that one”.

“He came in here, and he just absolutely destroyed everyone,” Lacob continued. “What showed through was his competitiveness was so high. It’s hard to describe without you getting to see it, but there’s a difference between somebody being competitive and somebody being maniacally competitive and trying to destroy everybody in every single drill for an hour straight.”

Flash forward to 12 years later.

During Day 2 of the NBA Combine, Bronny proceeded to drop 13 points within 23 minutes. Furthermore, he secured 4-10 field goals and made some sharp passes during the matchup. Even LeBron James, who was in attendance during the game, complimented his son from afar. During a post-game Q&A session, the 19-year-old stated, “I always try to come out and play with the most effort… I play hard and I will always play hard and I feel like that shows up on the defensive end.”

Draymond Green would go on to have a lucrative career with the Golden State Warriors, earning over four NBA championships, a DPOY, and set numerous records over 12 years. The player’s late elevated status helped him during the draft. Therefore, why can’t the same be beneficial for the Los Angeles Lakers star’s offspring as well?

Here’s why an NBA team must sign Bronny James, ignoring the nepo-tag

Before the Draft Combine, Bronny James was far from being considered a viable prospect for the big league. The average stat of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists that he secured during his 25 games with USC certainly did not do him any favors. However, if his recent performance provides any indications, it is that the player has certain qualities, other than his father’s name, that do not rule him out of the race so early.

Bronny’s 4 points and 4 rebounds scored during Game 1 were nothing close to memorable. However, the day only went on to be better for the player, as he successfully made 19 of his 25 three-pointer attempts in the shooting star drill.

12 of those successful shots were made in a row.

This was the second-best record out of all the other 78 candidates present. Furthermore, he also made a 40-and-a-half-inch max vertical leap during another segment of the Combine. This was almost in line with the 42-inch vertical leap that former Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose was reportedly making back in 2013.

Bronny’s overall stats increased during Game 2. Along with the 13 points, the player shot 40% from the field and made 2-3 three-pointers during the process.

LeBron James’ son has until May 29 to make a final decision. He will either continue to remain in the draft or return to his college sophomore season and wait for another year. According to reports, there is a very low possibility of Bronny being amongst the first-round picks during the NBA draft.

However, if the past few days haven’t helped to make his case, then nothing else could have.