Bronny James has yet to make final decision on NBA Draft status
Bronny James has yet to make a final decision regarding his NBA Draft status. Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania originally reported James was expected to stay in the draft rather than return to school.
In the latter case, James would test the waters and ultimately risk being drafted or not and start his pro career. Originally, James entered the NCAA transfer portal while also entering the draft process.
When asked if he made a decision, James cleared the air.
“No I have not,” James said when asked if he’s made a decision yet.
It’s all a grateful experience,” James said. “Extremely grateful to be here and to get an opportunity to be here to showcase my best work what I’ve been putting in after the season. And yeah, just to take it all in. I’m grateful for everything.”
James’ father LeBron James certainly gave his son words of encouragement leading into and during the combine.
“Yeah, he’s been talking to me,” James said. “After the day, we check in and stuff like that. He’s giving me words of encouragement.”
Bronny James did not make final decision on NBA
Looking at his last year of ball, Bronny James is a former McDonald’s All-American who suffered a very serious heart injury that took him out for some of the 2024 season. He then returned to average 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 36.6% from the field, in 19 minutes per game as the eighth man on a sub-par USC team.
The Trojans finished below .500 and never sniffed the NCAA Tournament or even an NIT berth. James also finished with the second-worst Box Plus-Minus of any player in the USC lineup.
Most analysts believe he could’ve benefitted from one (or more) extra years in college, but instead, he’s testing his ability against other pro-ready players.
A four-star prospect, he was the No. 25 overall prospect from the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was the only service to rank James as a five-star.
Time will tell if he can adjust to the NBA after just one season of college basketball. If he does return to the college game, he’ll garner significant interest in the portal.
How James improves as a player remains to be seen. But the guard’s father went on record saying he would like to play one year in the NBA with his son.
Father time is undefeated, so LeBron might have to do so in the next season or two. That’s not to say a team wouldn’t take a chance at drafting Bronny James to land LeBron in free agency as well.
That’s something to keep an eye on, especially for the Los Angeles Lakers, who hope to retain the future Hall of Famer. The wait for the final decision is on.