Bronny James: Full scouting report on LeBron James' oldest son

“Bronny James is cooking in the second half,” ESPN’s Paul Biancardi said after coming back from break with 7:52 left in the game. James’ California Basketball Club was facing off against the home Las Vegas Orange team. The crowd was energetic, and the performance was worthy of the buzz.

James went into halftime with nine points. He finished the game with 31. Even with having an event high 31 points, nothing was forced. He played within himself and within the flow of the offense. James finished the first round of the Border League Top Flight Division, going 11-of-13 from the field and 6-of-7 from three. The four-star guard added five assists, four steals, two rebounds, and a block.

Bronny was lights OUT! 31 points, shooting 11-13 (6-7 3PT) 🔥🔥@PaulBiancardi @KingJames @brdrleague pic.twitter.com/31Wbw1QjuH

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) October 15, 2022

Bronny’s backstory

Bronny has always been a big story. Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon had over 20 of their games televised on ESPN last summer. The program had an entire three-game overseas tour this summer. People have always been curious about Lebron James’ oldest son.

However, this year, things have gone to a new level. It started with a February article by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, where James told Lloyd, “My last year will be playing with my son.” This created some stir for a news cycle or two, but things settled in for James. That is until Peach Jam.

For one week in July, Nike’s Peach Jam is the center of the basketball world. NBA personnel and college coaches joined the national basketball media and a sold-out crowd. Everyone, at every level, stopped by to watch Bronny, and Bronny was good.

Through his seven games at Peach Jam, Bronny averaged 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. He finished the week with a 2.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Then the buzz picked up.

Shortly after Peach Jam, when Bronny’s California Basketball Club went on their overseas tour, the internet broke when ESPN’s Paul Biancardi opened pandora’s box when he wrote in an ESPN+ article that five schools were recruiting Bronny James. With Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State, Oregon, and Southern California’s recruitment being made public. At this point, an active recruitment started taking shape.

Confidence

Bronny James’ entire basketball career, he has been a support player. Playing alongside five-star recruits like Brandon Boston, Josh Christopher, and Amari Bailey, James was not meant to be an alpha.

This summer, playing with Strive for Greatness on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, James was asked to be an alpha. It was not a role he is used to, but because of the dynamic of the team, it was a role he was going to have to take head-on. In April, EYBL-Orlando, the first event of the Summer, James looked uncomfortable with the role. He averaged 11.2 points while shooting 30.5 percent from the field and coughing up 3.7 turnovers per game.

Time passed, and James became more comfortable in his role. At each EYBL Circuit stop, you could see a shift taking place. James was becoming an alpha, ok being the guy who created offense, ok drawing the opposing team’s game plan, and ok with scoring the ball when his team needed a bucket.

During Peach Jam, with the sold-out crowds, NBA personnel, and a who’s who of college coaches lining up every game, Bronny twice went for more than 25 points. He looked comfortable with this transition; the limelight has never been an issue, but being ‘the guy,’ Bronny looked comfortable.

Bronny’s defense

On night one of the Border League, Bronny James was matched up against 2024 four-star guard Juni Mobley. The 6-foot-1 Las Vegas-based guard is known for his deep scoring abilities.

Mobley finished the game 4-for-11 from the field with zero assists and six turnovers. Bronny has a stocky frame. He is a good athlete with burst with a listed 6-foot-3 frame.

Bronny is not afraid to press up on his man in the half-court to make him uncomfortable. He trusts his quick feet and understands the footwork and angles of playing pressure defense.

During Peach Jam, Bronny’s man scored 0.578 points per possession. This puts him in the 80th percentile among his peers. The players he guarded shot 27.3 percent from two and 23.5 percent from three.

At the point of attack, or on the wing, on the defensive end of the floor, Bronny brings a lot to the table. Some of it goes back to the confidence; however, when you combine basketball IQ with physical tools and mix in the toughness Bronny possesses, the result is oftentimes positive.

Bronny’s offense

Previously, the thought was that Bronny would grow into being a three-and-D type guard. However, through this summer, that thought shifted. Playing in the Border League, Bronny looked more like a combo guard. Not quite a singular primary point, but a guard who can play as part of a two-point guard lineup.

As stated above, guarding the point of attack will not be a problem for Bronny. Neither will touching the paint or the court vision. Right now, the biggest point of development for Bronny is developing his handle. In the open floor, he has great balance and is aggressive in getting to the basket. He attacks with great pace, head up, and is able to finish in the paint or make a read and distribute to his teammates.

The majority of his turnovers come when handling the ball in the half-court. At times he can get upright, allowing smaller defenders to get underneath him. The floor vision is there, and Bronny is comfortable setting up teammates, spraying pocket passes from different levels of the court. When he gets on the move, the pace and angles of his passes can get sporadic at times.

He has a natural feel and IQ, so these developments can come as he gets more comfortable with more reps being a primary ball handler.

Bronny buckets

Scoring may be the area in which Bronny James has most developed. The jump shot has been a question mark for a couple of years now. The release was inconsistent, and the balance and footwork were simply not there.

Watching Bronny throughout the summer and again during game one of the Border League, all of those concerns are not as strong. Against the Las Vegas Elite program, Bronny had plays run for him to score off movement and the standstill.

Off movement, you saw Bronny getting his feet set coming around the screen, his shoulders squared, and getting his balance under him doing the work before receiving the pass. Bronny finished well in traffic. His balance, again, was excellent in the paint. He had an array of side-steps and euro-steps as well as the strength and the burst to get clean looks or draw fouls and get to the line.

Final thoughts

Bronny has emerged with the look of a high-level combo guard. His comfort playing on the ball has developed, and his fundamentals in scoring the ball have made him a consistent threat.

As far as Bronny’s NBA outlook, his ability to defend the point of attack and the development of the jump shot provide a clear path for him to get there. Is he a one-and-done? That is to be determined. The developments in Bronny’s game over the past six months have been exponential. He still has a full year of high school left and then a year of college. It will be fascinating to see where Bronny James’ game is at in 18 months.