Bronny James is about to finish up his first year with the USC basketball team, and it might not be his last. When the five-star joined the Trojans, many people believed that he would play for one season and then head to the NBA to join his father, LeBron James. However, this season hasn't gone to plan for Bronny and USC, and it's starting to look like another season in college could be beneficial.
Being the son of LeBron James, we all knew that Bronny James would be the center of attention in college basketball. His dad is one of the best players of all time, and everyone knows what he wants to play with Bronny before he retires. However, according to recent mock drafts, LeBron might have to wait another year.
ESPN recently released an updated mock draft, and it did not include Bronny James. LeBron had this to say in a tweet shortly after it came out, but it has since been deleted.
“Can y'all please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball? The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y'all don't know, he doesn't care what a mock draft says. he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!,” The tweet read.
That's the thing. Bronny is a true freshman playing college basketball at an extremely high level. Most true freshman don't leave the bench during that first season. What we've seen this season from Bronny are normal growing pains that happen all the time in college basketball, and we wouldn't think twice about it happening to most true freshman. Obviously, however, Bronny is a different story.
Stephan A. Smith has since fired some comments at LeBron and he blamed him for what is happening with Bronny.
“This is all his fault,” Smith said. “All of it… When we get to Bronny James, that kid has done nothing but work hard… Any attention that he's warranted has been because of his daddy. ‘I want to play with my son. I want to stay here until my son gets to the NBA'… When you're LeBron James and you've put the word out that you want to be with him, you put the word out that you want to play with him, you put the word out that you would be willing to go to any NBA team that picks him up.”
Bronny needs one more year at USC
At the end of day, no one knows why this season hasn't gone the way that Bronny James and USC basketball expected, but the reality is that Bronny isn't ready to play in the NBA yet. The Trojans had high expectations coming into this season, both for the team as a whole and for Bronny. The team is currently 11-16 overall on the year and 5-11 in Pac-12 play after starting the season ranked in the top-25. They are in 11th place in the conference.
As for Bronny, his numbers have not lived up to the hype this year. Obviously, things didn't go to plan in the offseason as he suffered a scary cardiac arrest incident and couldn't play basketball for awhile. Bronny missed the first month of the season because of this, and he also missed valuable time during the offseason to get ready. Bronny is now averaging a little over 20 minutes per game, 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.5 APG.
Bronny James isn't ready for the NBA yet. He missed out on having a full offseason, and he is experiencing some growing pains. Again, all of this is normal, but it gets blown out of proportion a bit because he is the son of LeBron James.
One more year with USC is the right move for Bronny. He can actually experience a full offseason with a coaching staff that he is now familiar with, and he should be much more adjusted to this level next season. LeBron will have to wait another year to see his son in the NBA, and it's the right thing for Bronny, so he shouldn't mind.
Follow Us
Subscribe