Anonymous college coaches who spoke with The Athletic say LeBron James‘ oldest son, Bronny James, won’t be NBA-ready for 2 or 3 years. Even then he may be an off-the-bench role player.
The Athletic recently spoke with college head coaches around the country, and the majority of them agree that Bronny is not a generational talent like his father.
LeBron, who turns 38 on December 30, has said his first season playing alongside Bronny in the NBA will be his last. But LeBron may be an old man before Bronny gets drafted in the NBA.
“The expectation doesn’t match the talent level, or at least not yet,” one coach told The Athletic.
“Coaches and scouts who have actually evaluated — and not simply gawked at — his game like his athleticism and how he gets downhill; they say he’s got a good enough shot that he could play either point guard or shooting guard in college.”
They agree that 18-year-old Bronny (pictured with teammate Amari Bailey) “plays the game the right way.” “He makes the right passes,” and he “is an exceptionally good teammate.”
But the coaches think it will take Bronny 2-3 years of elite college basketball play before he’s NBA-ready.
Most coaches and scouts who spoke to The Athletic say Bronny “might not be NBA-ready after two or even three years.”
“He might develop into an NBA player, but the consensus is that it will take time. They say he needs reps against other high-caliber players to succeed, to fail, to adjust, to grow.”
Bronny James, a 6-ft-3 guard, is currently a high school senior at Sierra Canyon School in California. He must play at least one year of college ball before he can be drafted by an NBA team.
The earliest he and his father can expect to play together in the NBA is the 2024-2025 season — when LeBron will be 40 years old.
