Now that Bronny James’ USC basketball season is over, the NBA draft speculation will only become more intense. Bronny and LeBron James have decisions to make, and we will see what they choose to do. Part of the intrigue here is that LeBron James might value playing with Bronny sooner rather than later. Does that mean Bronny wants the very same thing, or does Bronny want to wait another year to enter the NBA, in which case he could either return to USC or go to the transfer portal and play for another school? Nothing seems certain. A move to the NBA and the Lakers with LeBron seems to be the most likely outcome, but no one should view that as a guarantee or a stone-cold lock.
Basketball evaluators would tell you that Bronny is not ready for the NBA, partly because his health problems limited his ability to train and build a fitness base this past season. It’s not a verdict on his quality so much as the limited timeline he has had to improve his game. The time he spent with USC and Andy Enfield, of course, did not significantly improve his offense. We all saw that and don’t need to go deep into the weeds on that point.
Bronny might not be ready for the NBA, but as we have written — and as LeBron Wire has noted — if drafting Bronny means keeping LeBron for 2025 and beyond, the Lakers will do so. Bronny’s value as a prospect would be secondary to the value of keeping LeBron on the Laker roster. That is one of many considerations for Bronny, LeBron, and the James family.
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