Wall-to-wall cameras and reporters focused on Bronny James against a blue backdrop, the diamond stud in his right ear reflecting light as he answered different versions of the same question at the NBA Scouting Combine. was.
“To be honest, it's a lot,” he said with a gentle smile.
No one asked outright–that would have been too rude and direct–“Bronny, aren't you just here because of your father?”
It's a question that haunts him wherever he goes.
Did he really deserve to spend that time in Sierra Canyon? Was he really a five-star recruit? Did he earn a spot on McDonald's All-American team?
Why on earth would a 4.8 point average as a freshman at USC enter the NBA Draft?
And at the NBA Combine earlier this week, James answered with confidence every time he was asked a question that delved into that topic.
LeBron James and LeBron James Jr. have the same name. They don't necessarily share a basketball future.
“My dream was always to get my name out there and make a name for myself and, of course, go to the NBA,” Bronny said. “…I never thought about playing with my dad, but of course I do. He's brought up the idea a few times.
“But yeah, I don't think about that.”
Bronny James bit his nails while listening to reporters' questions at Tuesday's draft meeting.
(Nam Y. Ho/AP)
He may be the only one at the combine.
In Chicago, Bronny James made it clear that he wants to be judged on himself, independent of other factors. He wanted to be his own man.
“You know, anything that follows my father, people try to associate me with that and the greatness that my father accomplished,” Bronny replied. “Looks like you haven't done anything yet.”
But NBA executives and scouts around the league say that's not possible.
Despite Bronny's statements, despite the words of LeBron James' agent Rich Paul and James himself, the father-son bond is inevitable, and Bronny's draft stock and LeBron James' free agency are more closely connected than ever before.
Multiple NBA executives told the Times that the team is discussing drafting Bronny James in the first round to lure his father to the team in free agency. Told.
“If you're a candidate and you're not having those conversations, that's irresponsible,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity like other NBA officials because the team does not share its draft strategy. said one executive.
It doesn't matter whether someone believes such a plan will work. It shows what he's up against.
Bronny James might want to make a name for himself. It's another thing entirely for the NBA to release him.
Bronny James looked at reporters asking questions and smiled during Tuesday's media session.
(Nam Y. Ho/AP)
Off the court, he is inescapable. On the court, he blends into the background.
“What's going on with Bronny?” General managers, scouts and personnel people want to know.
Last week, Bronny entered the NBA Draft Combine, one of basketball's mysteries but somehow all the more famous. He left it as a more serious draft prospect, but that's largely relative.
His scouting began well before his season at USC, and his play at events such as the Nike Hoop Summit has made him one of the most coveted prospects in the 2023 recruiting class.
Before this week, teams ranked James in the late second round if he was available to draft.
“He's not ready yet,” one evaluator told the Times.
There were still believers.
His supporters in the NBA scouting community will point to a variety of factors to explain the gap between his performance at USC and his potential future as an NBA professional.
Those scouts like Bronny's defensive drive and toughness on that side of the ball. They point to his athleticism and physicality as tools that can make a difference on defense at the point of attack.
Although he couldn't hit spot-up shots at USC, there was a feeling he would be able to shoot the ball better over time because of his work ethic and mechanics.
The combine's first alarm went off when Bronny was only 6 feet 1 1/2 inches tall with socks on. “They don’t play with socks on,” scouts like to say.
“If he was 6-foot-5, we would be talking about him in the first round,” one NBA executive told the Times.
But he isn't. Because of those inches, the path to success has become even more difficult. It's not impossible. Players like Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey and New York's Jalen Brunson have taken similar measurements during the pre-draft process. However, both players were much more productive in college, which helped alleviate some of the size concerns.
Both are considered point guards, and most people in Chicago don't see Bronny as that type of offensive player.
Athletically, Bronny showed strength early in the combine, with his 40.5-inch vertical tied for sixth place. And on Monday, as scouts got their first look at him on the court, he set the internet on fire to provide some buzz heading into Tuesday.
However, he failed in the first scrimmage. Bronny disappeared into the game and only sparked when he allowed an offensive rebound or turned the ball over. Most disappointing for some scouts was that he didn't seem to be playing hard.
Bronny James (center) walks past Cam Spencer (left) toward the basket during the first day of a 5-on-5 scrimmage at the NBA Draft Combine on Tuesday.
(Nam Y. Ho/AP)
“He's too weak,” one longtime scout familiar with Bronny said before the combine.
After Tuesday, the scout seemed like a prophet.
Still, it was expected in Chicago that Bronny would eventually declare for the draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility.
Playing in his final team setting on Wednesday, he showed why. Bronny attacked closeouts, made decisive plays and competed defensively.
This was the best-case scenario for a team wanting to see what he could do in a more professional setting.
But the biggest question remained unanswered.
They are too difficult to understand.
USC's Bronny James fights over a loose ball with Arizona's Caleb Love during a Pac-12 Conference Tournament game.
(John Locher/Associated Press)
“Then.” “The problem.” “Everything you've been through.” “It happened.”
No one, neither the reporter nor the brony, could say “cardiac arrest.”
Bronny's first media session in almost a year focused on his basketball future with his father, but underlying gratitude, perspective and fear flowed from one answer to the next.
“I'm still thinking about all the things that could happen,” Bronny said.
And that would be terrifying.
Last July, Bronny fell onto a court inside the University of Southern California's Galen Center, and no one was sure if he would get back up.
he was unconscious. His heart stopped. Trainers used a defibrillator to electrify his heart and get it working again.
He bounced back faster than anyone thought. Teammates remembered him getting up and joking 15 minutes after he collapsed on the court.
A cardiologist said Bronny was “neurologically intact and stable” by the time he arrived at the hospital.
He then underwent surgery to correct a congenital heart defect.
At the start of the combine, NBA doctors cleared him to play. But Brony is still not free from fear.
“It's still there,” he said.
You can't ignore how that incident, this issue, that thing that happened impacted what happened at USC last season and how it impacts what happens next.
What happened that day in July is unshakable. It changes you. And in Bronny James' case, that gave him a sense of gratitude.
“This is a great thing to happen to me in terms of just being grateful for everything,” he said. “…I worked hard to come back. So I feel like I got my chance.”
LeBron James (right) and his wife Savannah watch their son Bronny from the stands during a scrimmage at the NBA Draft Combine.
(Nam Y. Ho/AP)
How this goes in the NBA Draft and how it should go are probably two different things.
Bronny's arrival in the NBA was supposed to be the final chapter in LeBron's career. He called his idea of teaming up with his son a “dream” in 2018 and two years later.
But as that dream began to look more and more like a reality, a change occurred. Privately, those around James began to retreat from those desires and attempt to separate his future from that of his son. He did the same in public.
And this week in Chicago, Bronny made it clear that his goal is to be in the NBA, not to be his father's teammate.
But is anyone listening to it?
Despite not having the cap space to give LeBron a max offer, contending teams have discussed drafting Bronny in his early 20s. The idea is that if James drafted his son, he would actually consider signing him as a mid-level exception.
“Honestly, I feel like this is serious business. And I don't think you're going to think, 'I'm going to draft this kid just to get a father,'” Bronny said. “Well, I don't think GM would really allow that.”
Maybe not, but it's being discussed.
The prevailing wisdom in NBA circles is that regardless of who drafts Bronny, LeBron will ultimately decide to remain with the Lakers in free agency this summer.
The Lakers, who have the 55th overall pick in the draft, conducted prospect interviews with Bronny, and league officials believe he is on the floor.
If teams base their draft decisions solely on Bronny's skills and prospects, they will undoubtedly be accused of trying to lure LeBron away before his 22nd season.
It's a guarantee, and one of the only guarantees you'll find in the pre-draft process.
At his first audition as a professional basketball player, Bronny said he wanted to be isolated from his father's success. He wanted his future to be about his own game, not his name.
But as the children of super-successful and super-famous people know, that's not really part of the deal.
Perhaps Bronny will get a chance to show that he can help NBA teams win, and that he can be a defensive role player who can get the shot the team desperately needs.
Or maybe he becomes a pawn in a scheme, a calculated risk in a low-rated draft.
It was going to be a tough road, and he rose from an even tougher situation.
But Bronny James said he's ready.
And for now, all anyone can do is listen to him.
Staff writers Ryan Kartje and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
