USC basketball guard Bronny James is among the most intriguing 2024 NBA Draft prospects. James has tremendous defensive upside, but his subpar offensive production is a cause of concern. Nevertheless, the guard has high aspirations for his potential NBA 2k rating.
James revealed his thoughts after the 2024 NBA Draft Combine in a sit-down interview. First, he told the interviewer that his brother Bryce has never beaten him one-on-one, at least not yet. Then, James made his big 2K rating reveal:
“I feel I deserve a respectable 80, 81…yeah,” James said via Bleacher Report on Instagram.
James' aspiration is respectable in that 80 overall players are not the best in the game. Think of them as having a “B minus” grade. However, the fact remains that many rookie players, like James hopes to be, do not have that high of a rating. Thus, fans on social media poked major fun at the guard:
“Better buy some VC then,” one Instagram user commented.
“81 is wild for a brown shirt,” another fan said.
“Dude is realistically a 52,” another brutally claimed.
For those unaware, the default overall rating for a created player in NBA 2K's “MyCareer” is 60. When a player starts their career, they have a base set of attributes and accessories, one of which is the brown shirt the above fan mentioned. Brown shirts carry the stigma that a player is inexperienced, likely lacks virtual currency (VC), and is simply bad at the game.
Some fans believe Bronny James is unworthy of an 80 overall on the general roster. However, others defended his goal:
“Ya'll want him to give himself a low rating? Ease up”, one fan claimed.
“What if he gets in the league and averages 30”? another proposed.
James can eventually achieve his desired NBA 2k rating, but it will take some work.
Bronny James wants to start his NBA career in 2024
After one season with the USC basketball program, James took his chances and entered his name into the 2024 NBA Draft. The move was bold, considering the guard's freshman year production was not eye-popping. James averaged 4.9 points, 0.8 steals, and shot 26.7 percent on three-pointers in 19.4 minutes per game.
James went through some challenges during his first collegiate campaign, which was understandable considering the life-changing summer he had beforehand. In July of 2023, James suffered a cardiac arrest during a USC basketball practice. Such an event is truly frightening and would make anyone question their lifestyle afterward, even a relatively healthy athlete like James.
Nevertheless, James fully recovered and returned to playing basketball within months. The 2023-24 season did not go how he imagined, but James moved toward redemption at the 2024 NBA Draft combine. He had a standout pro lane agility drill showing and amassed a 40-and-a-half-inch max vertical leap.
Furthermore, James displayed his defensive skills and offensive potential in two scrimmages. After amassing four points, four rebounds, and two steals in the first game, James amassed 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the second.
It will be interesting to see if James proceeds with the professional path or returns to college. If he returns, he will have plenty of options awaiting him from his move to enter the transfer portal earlier in the spring. Will the star guard find himself in an NBA uniform in late 2024?
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