Bronny James is ready to end his first year with the USC basketball team, and it may not be his last. When the five-star recruit signed with the Trojans, many expected him to play one season before moving on to the NBA to follow his father, LeBron James. However, this season has not gone as planned for Bronny and USC, and it appears that another season in college may be beneficial.
As the son of LeBron James, we all expected Bronny James to be the center of attention in college basketball. His father is one of the greatest players of all time, and everyone knows what he intends to do with Bronny before retiring. However, based on previous mock drafts, LeBron may have to wait another year.
ESPN recently issued an updated mock draft, which did not include Bronny James. LeBron wrote this in a tweet immediately after it was published, but it has already been deleted.
“Could you please let the kid to be a kid and enjoy college basketball? Regardless of what he decides to do, the work and results will speak for themselves. If you don’t know, he doesn’t care what the mock draft says. He just works! Earned, not given!” The tweet reads.
That’s the thing. Bronny is a true freshman who plays college basketball at an exceedingly high level. Most true freshmen do not leave the bench during their first season. What we’ve seen from Bronny this season are typical growing pains in college basketball, and we wouldn’t be surprised if other true freshmen experienced them as well. Clearly, Bronny is a different story.
Stephan A. Smith has since criticized LeBron and blamed him for what is happening to Bronny.
“This is all his fault,” Smith remarked. “All of it…” Bronny James has worked tirelessly to achieve his goals. Any attention he has received has been because of his father. I want to play with my son. I plan to stay here till my son makes it to the NBA… When you’re LeBron James, you’ve made it clear that you want to be with him, that you want to play with him, and that you’d be willing to join any NBA team that takes him on.”
At the end of the day, no one understands why this season hasn’t gone as planned for Bronny James and USC basketball, but the truth is that Bronny isn’t yet ready to play in the NBA. The Trojans had great expectations for this season, both as a team and for Bronny. The club is now 11-16 overall and 5-11 in Pac-12 play after beginning the season ranked in the top 25. They are ranked 11th in the conference.
Bronny’s numbers have not lived up to expectations this year. Obviously, things did not go as planned during the offseason, as he experienced a severe cardiac arrest and was unable to play basketball for a while. Bronny missed the opening month of the season, as well as critical offseason preparation time. Bronny now plays a little more than 20 minutes per game, averaging 5.5 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Bronny James isn’t ready for the NBA yet. He lost out on a complete offseason and is going through some growing pains. Again, all of this is normal, but it is exaggerated slightly since he is LeBron James’ son.
Bronny will benefit from another year at USC. He can actually spend an entire offseason with a coaching staff he is now familiar with, and he should be lot more accustomed to this level by next season. LeBron will have to wait another year to see his son in the NBA, but it is the best thing for Bronny, so he should not worry.
