Bronny James’ potential draft spot revealed in ESPN’s updated mock of 2025 NBA Draft

It was long thought that Bronny James would head to the NBA as soon as possible, especially with a chance to play with his father. However, that idea is starting to shift and, as such, is beginning to reflect in recent mock drafts.

Jonathan Givony released his first mock for the 2025 NBA Draft at ESPN on Monday. As part of that simulation, he had James going 39th overall as a second-round selection. That would send him to the Portland Trailblazers in a pick that originally belonged to the Atlanta Hawks.

James missed the first part of his freshman season at USC after a cardiac arrest due to a congenital heart defect. He debuted in the lineup on December 10th and has since appeared in 19 games for the Trojans.

In those outings, James is averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 20.2 minutes per game. He’s shooting just 37.5% from the field to this point, including only 27.5% from three.

James was long considered to be a first-round pick, if not a lottery selection, in the 2024 NBA Draft. For one, his talent out of high school suggested he could reach that level after a year in college. For two, his future has been tied to his father, LeBron James, for some time now with it being known that they’d like to team up in the association, so much so that James could potentially leave the Los Angeles Lakers in order to do that.

Still, at this moment, James just may not be ready to take on the next level yet. It might be to his benefit to stay another year in the collegiate ranks in order to continue his growth and be truly ready to take on his career in the league.

It’ll be fascinating to see how Bronny James and his family take on this decision in the next few weeks. It means a lot to everyone around them but, considering all things, it’s in the hands of the 19-year-old to decide what’s best for him on the court after this season.

James says he was unaware of rumors regarding potential trade to Golden State

LeBron James is about as in the know as any player in or that has ever been in the NBA. That apparently wasn’t the case at the trade deadline, though, with his own name reportedly having been on the block.

During an appearance on ‘Inside The NBA’ ahead of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, James spoke about the rumors regarding a potential deal between Los Angeles and Golden State at the deadline that would have made him a Warrior. He said that he had no knowledge of those discussions taking place until the reports came out. To him, that says a lot about how far along that they ever actually got.

"I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it." 🤔

LeBron says he was unaware of Warriors trade rumors pic.twitter.com/ospvgyxWqt

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 19, 2024

“It didn’t go far at all, you know. I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it,” said James.

“Obviously, Charles (Barkley) has been in the league, Kenny (Smith) been in the league, Shaq been in the league. Sometimes? There’s conversations happening behind closed doors that you don’t even know about. Until, I guess, it’s real or not? Then they’ll bring it to you,” said James. “But it never even got to me so I heard it when the reporters dropped it as well.”