LeBron James described himself as a proud parent after watching his eldest son, Bronny James, participate in the 2024 NBA draft combine in Chicago, Illinois.
LeBron and his wife, Savannah, were among those on hand at the festivities last week to watch Bronny compete alongside 80-plus other prospects in the various scrimmages, strength and agility testing and anthropometric measurements.
Bronny, who measured in at 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches barefoot with a 6-foot, 7 1/4-inch wingspan, averaged 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, one assist and one steal in two scrimmage games. He also went 19-of-25 in the 3-point star drill and registered a 40 1/2-inch max vertical, the sixth-best mark.
LeBron, speaking with co-host JJ Redick this week on the “Mind the Game” podcast, called it a remarkable feeling to watch Bronny in the event at the Wintrust Arena.
As a parent, to be able to be there to witness a child of yours start to live out a dream of theirs is something Bronny has always talked about. We asked him plenty of times like, ‘What is your end goal?’ and his end goal is to be in the NBA. To see him almost at that moment for a parent is something that you could just be in awe of because you want your kids to be able to live out their dreams.
Bronny announced on April 5 that he would test the draft and enter the NCAA transfer portal after playing one season at USC. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 games on 36.6% shooting from the field with the Trojans.
The 19-year-old was back on the court in front of executives on Wednesday for the Klutch Sports Group pro day in Los Angeles, California. He went through various on-court drills and workouts in a controlled environment at the Lakers’ practice facility.
Bronny, who isn’t projected to be drafted, pointed to players such as Jrue Holiday, Davion Mitchell, Marcus Smart and Derrick White as players who best resemble what he brings to the next level. He likes the grit, toughness and defensive intensity they play with nightly.
LeBron approved of that list of players.
These are the players that you have to have on your team because it doesn’t always show up in the box scores, but it always shows up in the winning plays. … For Bronny to have that mindset of like, ‘Listen, at this point in time in my life and in my game, I know where I stand, but I know how I affect the game.’ He is just a winning player and I just love his mindset.
Bronny has until May 29 to withdraw from the draft and return to college.
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